Which iMac for Editing ACVHD video?

Hello all,
I am a long-time PC user in need of a new computer and thinking of making the switch to an iMac. I have hours of HD video shot on a Canon Vixia HF200 camcorder, and even my high-end work computer bogs down trying to edit HD video.
How much horsepower is recommended in an iMac for editing AVCHD? I know that more is always better, but from a dollars perspective, middle of the road is where I am aiming.

Most Mac OS X editing applications transcode AVCHD to an intermediate format (Apple Intermediate Codec, or ProRes if you were to use Final Cut Studio) for editing, so you don't need that much horsepower (but lots of disk space).
You might be able to edit AVCHD natively using Adobe Premiere or Premiere Elements, in which case a powerful computer would help. It may also be possible to trick Apple's apps into editing AVCHD natively by remuxing to .mov with something like ClipWrap.
I'd say get an iMac as powerful as you can afford (favoring the quad-core over a similarly-priced dual-core configuration), and consider keeping money aside for accessories (e.g. external drives) or extended warranty.

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