NEVER buy a Dell.

[izzyneko]

This would usually go without saying, but this is ridiculous. As in this example below, Dell is currently charging more for a system with less performance than a system with more performance. Just by adding a neat case and shiny XPS logo, Dell intends on ripping your rectum out from your asshole.

Look at "Media Guru" and "XPS 710." XPS has less RAM, a smaller HDD, and one less optical drive. It's amazing how many people must fall for that every day. It sickens me.
What the fuck? Seriously.

On a lighter note, this is my system setup with my budget upped a bit.
(* indicates that I have purchased the part.)

*Rosewill Case - $48
(Price recently increased to $50. Already bought it, though.)
*Sunbeam 480W PSU, Black Finish - $23
*ASUS M2N-E Motherboard - $101
(Price dropped two bucks. Damn. >.<)
*AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ - $109
G.Skill DDR2 800 2GB(2x1GB) RAM - $174
EVGA GeForce 7900GS Video Card- $166
Chimei 22" LCD Widescreen Monitor - $290
(Heavy hitter.)
Misc. Accessories - $15
Already have HDDs, input devices, speakers, and optical devices from old 'puter.
300GB SATA HDD, 80GB IDE HDD, 16x DVD-RW, Saitek light-up USB keyboard, Viewsonic wireless mouse, and 5.1 Logitech speakers.

Total cost: $926, ~$950

Eat your heart out, Dell.