need advice on buying new desktop pc

[the burninator]

My computer i have now is about to die so I'm looking for a new pc. I was thinking of a getting a gaming orientated pc but i don't know jack about computers. so I'm looking for a few ideas and unfortunately i cant build it. my budget is about $1,500.

[Ajmukon]

DELL & HP are "decent"

ACER & Toshiba are "very good"

STAY AWAY FROM:
Sony, Gateway, Dell laptops, compaq, & others

EDIT: some links;
www.bestbuy.com (for Acer & Toshiba desktops)
www.dell.com XPS only!! (all others are cr@ppy)
www.hp.com not enough experience with them...

[the burninator]

this is my first custom computer and want to know if there is anything wrong with my setup. unfortunately I can't get any thing more expensive. The specs are as follows.

# INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E8400 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm, 65W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
# ARCTIC COOLING, MX-2 High-Performance Thermal Compound, Non-Electrical Conductive
# SERVICE, Overclocking, Dual-Core CPU, 20-30% Performance Increase
# COOLERMASTER, CM Sphere CPU Cooler, Socket 775/754/939/AM2, Copper
# XFX, MB-N650-IUL9, LGA775, nForce 650i Ultra, 1333MHz FSB, DDR2-800 8GB /4, PCIe x16, SATA 3Gb/s RAID 5 /4, HDA, GbLAN, ATX, Retail
# OCZ, 4GB (4 x 1GB) Gold GX XTC PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL 5-5-5-12 SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
# XFX, GeForce® 8800 GTS 650MHz, 512MB GDDR3 1.94GHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDTV-Out, Retail
# WESTERN DIGITAL, 250GB WD Caviar® SE16, SATA 3.0 Gbit/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
# RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
# MITSUMI, Black Internal 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
# LITE-ON, LH-20A1L Black/Beige 20x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe, SATA, Retail
# NZXT, Trinity Black Mid-Tower Case w/ Window, ATX, No PSU, Steel
# CUSTOM WIRING, Standard Wiring with Round Cables
# COOLERMASTER, eXtreme Power 650W Power Supply, 24-pin ATX12V, SLI Ready
# MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit, OEM
# SERVICE, OEM System Recovery (secure HDD partition only)
# SERVICE, System Binder
# GAMING PC, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)
# SERVICE, Standard Shipping (UPS, DHL, or Fedex)

[stepfinder]

Well the best choice for you is to build one, with your budget you can get quite a cool gaming machine. You can go to newegg, tigerdirect, fry's to find your parts they are good stores. But if you don't want to take the trouble you can simply go to Dell, as far as I know they are now offering a $300 off Inspiron Desktop $999+ coupon (http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=94708&ru=282).

[odannyboy000]

That is a very good gaming machine (Minus a few parts like the motherboard). I'd build it myself if I was you...its not difficult if you know how to read and use logic. Everyone has to take the plunge at one point.