I have had the same exact problem with Pinnacle Studio 9. The problem is that the program is buggy and will often freeze or crash. I have a Dell P4 3.06 Ghz processsor, 1 GB RAM, 400GB SATA HDD, so the problem that you have is not your computer. There is no reason to spend $1500 on a new computer when your problem is software. I would suggest that you switch to Adobe Premiere Elements, which is $100, with more capability but the same easy interface.
I run 3D animation programs, and Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 and After Effects 6.5 Pro with no problems. The only program that freezes is Pinnacle.
Change your software, not your computer. It’s like a car. If software is your tires, which help to move you around, you don’t get a new car because your tires have problems. You get new tires.
