3K is a load for a computer nowadays. I like Dell, but that's because we use them here at work and have very few problems (I'm a sysadmin here). I have never been a fan of Gateway or HP. Alienware makes fine machines but they are geared for the gaming/fanboy/benchmark crowd and are more expensive than they need to be. I spec'd parts for a computer in the class you are talking about a couple of months ago and came it at $2K for a completely fully loaded machine with a Samsung 19" lcd monitor. I mean 250G HDD, 2GB low latency ram, whatever GeForce was new at the time, DL DVD burner, etc. A quick swipe at Dell.com shows you can get the same thing plus a warranty and 20" LCD and a dual tv tuner for about $2400 USD.
