A full Alienware rig for a grand? Can it be?

Looks like Alienware is sensitive to the needs of country. In these times, when the only people who can afford top-shelf parts are AIG executives, we need an option that doesn’t break the bank, yet can pull down 50fps in Far Cry 2. Alienware may be little more than a Dell organ now, but they still make good computers, and if you’re looking for something premade with a little more cachet than Wal-Mart’s house brand, configuring one of these might be worth it. I say “might” because although it looks decent, the specs really are kind of anemic. A GeForce 9800? 250GB of storage? And an E8400 when quad-cores are standard in gaming rigs and Core i7s are around the corner?

I can certainly vouch for their build quality and reliability, but now may be the time to learn something about putting a computer together and save a few bills by putting together your own sweet budget rig.