[linux-audio-user] Dedicated Digital Audio Workstation

Hello, I am wanting to put together a dedicated DAW for the recording of sermons. From that recording I will produce cassettes, cds, mp3 and ogg/speek (as hardware support comes). I am totally uneducated as to what is best for such. Hardware: I am currently looking at picking up used rackmount unit (4U) for this machine. How much processor is desired/required for this task? PII, PIII, P4/Athlon. Are dual systems (PII,PIII) desireable? I will buy plenty of RAM and hard drive space. Any preference in soundcards? Anything else? I do want good quality recording. Software: Need not be complicated or highly featured per se. My editing needs currently are minimal. Pick a starting point, pick an end point. Create new file. Ability to select beginning, middle and end points when creating cassettes. I will be connecting this to a rackmounted cassette deck, a mixer, etc. I currently use Debian (Sid) for my home machine. If that makes any difference. Thanks for help and suggestions. Jimmie Houchin