mann.. i paid less than that for a daul core CPU, 1Gb RAM, and a 7 series GeForce... with DVD burner, brighviewdisplay, custom casing from HP
specs in signature
used to have an inspiron 6000 that i overpaid for... had a 2.0 centrino, 1GB RAM with a 64MB GPU with no brightview LCD nor DVD burner... paid freaking 1,200 for it about a year ago...!!!!!
look on ebay for some high powered notebooks... you can usually get lucky and land something 2days old or brand new for hundreds less... just search around