Vegas (Windows) vs. Final Cut Pro (Mac)

I'm on the verge of either setting up a small video production facility using Final Cut Pro on a Mac or Vegas 8 on a PC.

I like much about Vegas, have been evaluating it for a couple of weeks on and off, have tried a few things, checked out the tutorials. Encountered a couple of anomalies -- such as rendering to WMV that came out as an all-black (essentially empty ) 40MB file; but when I tried a second time, it turned out fine. A little unnerving, but I'm very much a beginner at this thing, and I realize there are a ton of variables/settings. (I also have a lifelong knack for discovering bugs in software that other people never experience.)

We have an experienced Mac user who's used FCP and swears by it, and says the Mac is a superior platform for video production. I tend to think a beefy PC these days can equal a Mac in having what it takes, and I've read multiple Vegas users (including those with FCP experience) say that Vegas has a faster workflow and is overall simpler/speedier to work in, with plenty of power.

I'm not producing feature-length films, but short (max. 40 mins.) marketing videos for display at customer meetings and on the web. But we are shooting in HD, so the software must handle this well.

Anyone got advice, opinions, experiences to share? Has Vegas proved to be robust, reliable, etc. I'd love to hear especially from anyone who's used FCP on a Mac and yet is using Vegas 8 on a PC now....

Thanks for any feedback.

Orson