Clueless Newbie Blues in B Demolished

Hey folks,  I'm a singer songwriter from an era that didn't grow up with computers.  I still own a Fostex 4 track.  Can't believe I just admitted that. 
Anyway... I want to buy the Sonar X3 Studio and use it to record mostly acoustic stuff, but maybe some soft synth later if I get the midi thing figured out.  I still can't imagine needing more than 24 tracks for any of my songs.
My question is about the kind of computer I should buy to run this software.  I don't think the lappy I'm currently typing on will do the trick.  I know that a serious engineer would have some serious requirements regarding computers.  I don't want to buy some cheap piece of crap and have it crashing all the time, but I also don't want to drop 3 grand on a computer either.  Is there anything out there that actually works with a reasonable degree of reliability for around $500 to $1000 ?  If so, can you point me toward something useable I can get at BestBuy or Costco so I don't have to deal with the patronizing geeks at the local wizard hut?
Am I being totally unrealistic?
Thanks in advance for your patience!
 
Jon

Thanks for taking the time to reply!  I'll see what's on sale at Costco & Bestbuy that fits.  Do you think a 17" screen is worth the extra on a laptop?

Yeah... I'm leaning toward a desktop cuz I probably won't use it for web surfing and blogging and the other stuff I do with my current lappy.  This new computer can just live in my workroom/office/studio.  I'm about to pull the trigger on ...uh... welp... looks like a I can't post links (yet?).  Anyhow its a HP Envy 700-251 XT with:

Powerful high-performance PC with Windows 7, latest Intel 4th gen quad-core processor, massive memory and hard drive, high-end graphics, Beats audio, limited two-year warranty, expandability
Operating system - Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Processor - 4^th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4770 processor quad-core [3.4GHz, 8MB Shared Cache]
Memory - 8GB DDR3-1600MHz [1 DIMM ]
Hard drive - 1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Graphics card - Intel HD Graphics [DVI-D]
Optical drive - SuperMulti DVD Burner

Ok... maybe I already pulled the trigger on it, but if you could inspire me to have enough dread, doubt and regret, I might still be able to weasel out of it.  maybe. 
 
Tell me I didn't screw this up, ok?
 edit: oh yeah, I ordered a 23" monitor with it.
Thanks,
 
jon

Thanks Kalle,
If I just run the thing with the internal HDD, how long before I fill it up?  What strategies could I use now to avoid that?  Should I go ahead and get another HDD?  Thanks for fielding all the noob questions!
 
jon

Hey Greg, 
Thanks for taking the time to offer your advice!  I appreciate it.  I'm not a pro by any stretch.  I suspect it will take me a long time to fill up a 1.0TB HDD.  If I do fill it up quickly it will mean that I'm doing lots of recording.  I guess if I do that much recording, I will be looking for a more advanced computer soon anyway.  I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be OK with this one for a while.  I was glad to get some reassurances form folks who have actually used this stuff though.
 
Next in line, I need to go shopping for an interface.  The Roland Quad capture that Kalle recommended appears to be a nice unit.  I just wonder if I can justify the extra money for a 4/4 interface.  I'm just one guy with a guitar at this point so I'm leaning toward a 2/2 interface just because they're cheaper.  I dunno??  Am I trying to save a buck in the wrong spot?
 
jon

The Quad actually only has two mic/instrument inputs. The other two are MIDI and digital inputs. It is a nice unit, though.
As Greg suggested, get the best you can afford. Just a little more money usually brings some extra feature on board that can come in handy. 
For instance, on my Akai EIEPro, I can turn on phantom power to the four mic inputs two at a time. This means I can record condenser and dynamic or ribbon mics at the same time.
M-Audio has just released a similar unit.
If you order from Sweetwater.com you can split the payments. I use this option a lot.

Cool! In the meantime, if you have another $20 to play with, download one of the X3 tutorial videos onto your laptop. You can study up on what you are getting, and when you get everything set up, you can watch the video on the laptop, and work along with it on your PC.
I'm pretty happy with X3 Studio. I think you'll like it.

I've got the SWA Complete Bundle video. It's 11 hours of material. There's a lot to cover, and he moves along at a good pace. It's broken down into chapters, with plenty of detail.
A lot of people like the Groove 3 video, but I haven't seen it yet.
Both of these have much more in depth coverage than any of the quickie videos that I have watched.