I'm going to be purchasing a pc system hopefully as close to the one that Allen suggests in best pc thread (two hard drives etc). Unfortunately i'm going to have the internet connected to the same computer (broadband via LAN connection) and i'm wondering if there are any anti-virus programs that don't interfere with PTLE. Is there any solution so that i can protect my system from outside forces and still run LE effectively? Is the only option to just not have the internet on the same computer?

Any process running in the background, no matter what it is, steals some power from PTLE...and any other application for that matter. This really doesn't become an issue unless you run a session that by itself pushes your computer to the limit. I run AVG Free edition with no hiccups.

Damn... Chris beat me to it.

AVG Free for virusprotection, plus Sygate Personal Firewall. Works 100% for me, and it seemed that those applications didn't slow down my setup at all!

CA eTrust AV and Pest Patrol. only apps ive found with a compleate up to date dictionary and are very light on processing overhead although its still good to disable whatever app you use while you are running PT. real hardware or dedicated software firewall and content filtering.

landlocked, AVG free version here too. Windows and hardware firewall and 4 PCs on home LAN. I only use my PT and Wavelab box networked for software, etc..downloads. You can create a second "User Profile" with the NIC disabled when running PT, but as other users here reported, the system load is minimal on an average session. good luck,

AVG Free here too. i was a fan of sygate until symantec came and messed with the picture so now i'm with zone alarm (free). i don't use PT on this computer much but the legendary davec test yields the same results with or without the AV and/or firewall running and i have not had any problems with either.

Yep - AVG Free is great, also consider , works great and unlike Norton it doesnt conflict with anything. L.Dudley