From what I've observed, the higher spec requirement is based on what format you want to encode your raw HD footage to rather than the source. Choose a format suitable for the web and it's not an issue, but if you up the bitrate for the output then it makes a huge difference (and a Huge file!). I can't remember the specifics but I tried one piece and it was estimating 13 hours to encode it! I just upgraded the home PC to a quad core (because Vegas allegedly can use all 4) so will try some at the weekend and get some timings.

TR – I'll give that setting a try, thanks.

I'm managing on a dual core with 2Gb ram…

More oomph would probably help as the preview can be very jerky (using Vegas Movie Studio) when editing full 1080p footage. aprt from that it's ok.

Rendering is always gonna take a while but you can leave it to it and **** off and do something else…. maybe a bike ride even?