Yah, I would never pay that much for an alienware... your paying $2000+ extra for a name brand...
Look at this Dell Inspiron I configured for $1460 (including tax)
Inspiron E1505 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Media Center, CD and Ext USB TV Tuner, Remote
LCD Panel 15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 DIMM
Video Card 256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™
Hard Drive 80GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0
Combo or DVD+RW Drive 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Sound Options Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
Wireless Networking Cards Intel PRO/Wireless 3945a/g