Shopping for a Gaming PC

So I’ve decided I’n Bored of Warcraft, and want to play Age of Conan. That means a new PC with some pretty hefty requirements (2GB DDR RAM, 2.4 GHz dual core or better, and an NVidia 7950 or better). Anyone want to suggest something?

I would like to pay under $1000 for the rig (monitor, keyboard, etc. not included). I will not pay over $2000 and I probably won’t pay that much. I prefer XP to Vista. I don’t want to build my own system (though I might resort to that if I have to). If I order off the web, I definitely want one that ships fast. Otherwise I want to buy off the shelf at Fry’ or some other local dealer.

CyberPower seems like the cheapest, but has too many horror stories.

Alienware is pretty expensive, but has one really bad horror story. (I could live with that one if they were priced in the same ballpark as CyberPower.)

Dell is a little expensive at $1199, and not as reliable as they used to be.

I am looking for a whitebox vendor in my neighborhood. Anyone know if they’re any of those computer dealer shows that take place in high school gyms coming up in Orange County anytime soon?

Suggestions of specific systems at particular vendors are especially appreciated.

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