Well then, thats a nice proposition. (BEWARE Long Post)
Ok first answer some questions. Do you mainly use your computer to play Games? (I'm pretty sure you do) Then you just need a decent processor, decent drive space, decent memory, and a VERY good vid card. If you do encoding/decoding (in respect to video), then that takes lots of processing power so you would need a VERY good processor.
If its just for gaminng:
CPU: At least 2Ghz AMD or Intel (I like AMD better tho)
Motherboard: Asus, MSI, Abit brands are good (doesnt matter if you're going the Dell route tho)
RAM: 1 Gig (from Crucial, Corsair, or Kingston)
HardDrive: AT least 80 Gigs, I personally have 800 Gigs tho. I store alot high quality japanese anime.
Vid Card: Now here is the big question. The best out there now are the 256 Mb Vid cards from ATI x850 or the GeForce 6800 Ultra. (these will run you from $500-1k) But you can get a decent one like ATI x800, or ATI 9800, or the Geforce 6800, Geforce 6800 GT. Theres alot out there.
If you bulid it yourself, you'll also need a case and powersupply along with the keyboard, mouse, speakers, and monitor. I prefer to build it myself because I'll know whats in the machine and the full capabilities of it AND you save money. You could buy a nice machine from Falcon, Dell, or Alien, but it'll be pricey. I could build most systems from Alien with the same capabilities for a lesser price. But it takes more work and you don't get an overall warranty (you'll get seperate warranties for each part).
Dell tends to skimp on parts that aren't apparent to the user such as motherboards, RAM, harddrive, and CD-Rom/DVD player. So they'll use no-name brands that will just do the job, but may not be the best or highest of quality. I'm not sure about Alien or Falcon, because I haven't had the chance to look inside these machines (they cost too much). =D
So you have to weigh out what you want and whats important to you. If you buy a computer from Dell, Alien, or Falcon, you get their customer service when something breaks, or if you build it yourself, then you have to troubleshoot, replace the part yourself, or if its still under warranty, get the manufacturer to replace it.
So in summary:
If you care about whats in your computer and you want to maintain it yourself, then build it.
If you want to just have a decent machine and let the manufacture worry about replacing broken parts, then buy it. Theres lots of deals for Dell computers right now, so I would check there first. Alien and Falcon both are quite expensive but if thats what your looking for, have fun shopping!
