Everyone told me final cut is better than Premiere... why is nothing simple

Final cut pro users, please help!
I've just spent a fortune on a brand new mac and final cut Pro 7 on the recommendation of countless people. After reading a lot of forums and web pages and many hours of wasted time I've installed Windows XP on my Mac and my old copy of adobe premiere 2.0 - this actually works!
Maybe I'm just new and don't understand it yet, but here are my main problems.
1. Even after installing codecs that now (Eventually!) run all the MPEG and AVI files in Quick time, once the video goes into FCP it cannot render it. Every piece of advice on the internet about using AVI says "Convert them to MOV files separately and then import them". But why?!? why can't I just get a codec that will handle the files in FCP? Why must I spend hours converting my whole library so that I can even start editing?
2. Once converted to MP4 (Outside of FCP) I still find I have to manually render everything... everytime I cut up video in the timeline or add filters or transitions I have to re-render those clips. In Premiere it automatically renders any changes you make so you can watch back the changes straight away. Is there a way to set this up on FCP so it renders each time I make an edit?
All this amounts to is that using FCP takes WAY longer to do anything than with Premiere. Can anyone tell me how to fix the problems? I've been an expert PC user for 10+ years, but I'm stumped by the Mac, please help!
Thanks!

If you have lots and lots of different codecs to deal with, and you want to edit them all in their current state without converting, then get the application that does that for you. FCP is NOT that application. It, like Avid, is designed to work with specific codecs in real time. FCP has a long list, but nothing you listed is on it. What you see in the EASY SETUPS is what you need to have.
Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, Edius...those are designed to deal with multiple codecs in their native form. But they too might have some issues because, simply put, not every codec is designed to be editable.
Saying that "FCP is better than Premeire," that has to be qualified. Better at WHAT? Because Premiere is better when it comes to certain workflows, and FCP is better at others. Then Avid comes along and it the best thing for even other workflows. For your specific needs, no, FCP is not better. Premiere is.
It's like saying a hammer is better than a screwdriver. Well, if you have to put a nail into wood, yes it is. But then if you have a screw, a hammer is not the best thing, and will make a mess of things.
Shane

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    dorian86 wrote:
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    salvaLosAngeles wrote:
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    Message was edited by: BlueDingo

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