Avid Pro Audio Community - Latest hardware, latest Windows and Mbox 2 Pro

Hi everyone,

I hope this post is in the right area.

I'm planning to buy a new PC and a new Mbox2 Pro, and would appreciate any facts or opinions that might save me time and money. My knowledge level is average.

Hardware
Probably Dell. I would like to get a 64bit processer.

Operating System
Windows Vista , but I want to dual boot to XP Pro SP2 .... Might I get round some incompatibilities???

Mbox Pro2 Factory (Firewire)

That's it really. I wondered whether there is enough info about Mbox 2 operating with 64 bit processors, and Vista (when it becomes available)

I plan purchasing Dec 2006 -February 2007

Background:
My present Dell 2.2 with Pro Tools 7 LE plus Mbox 2 USB are operating just too slow and the computer is now stretched. I use a lot of apps, and even with the profile tune-up etc, performance is not good enough. (BTW I don't have viruses or spyware)

It may be that I need to dedicate a pc or hard drive just to operate Mbox+Pro Tools LE to get round the problem, so I'm re-evaluating everything.

Apple:
Ok, (apologies... sorry..) so I'm asking the question everyone asks - shall I get a Mac? Or stay with my proposal to get a good PC in Feb?

If so what model shall I be looking for?
I guess that it would mainly be for sound stuff because I have a large collection of PC software I use which is not sound based - so I probably would need to keep a pc. I just don't really want to re-invent the wheel again...

Does it really matter?

Thanks in advance everyone.