John, speeds and capabilities have gone up pretty radically, as prices for stuff of that spec has gone down. I'd be surprised if the bits in that article would total more than $800 today - in fact, I'd be surprised if all the bits listed are still available today.
Some things *have* changed in two years. The power of 3D graphics has gone up incredibly, so that you only need a higher-spec card if you're seriously into gaming - anything else, a budget card will be more than adequate. The quality of LCD displays has also gone up incredibly, so that they're just about useable for games and video stuff now. USB 2 has arrived, and you shouldn't get a mobo without it. PCI Express is on the way in, so you need to decide whether you want to stick with AGP and PCI or go for the bleeding edge. Prices of memory, storage and processor speed have dropped through the floor. And with the faster processors, you need to take more care in buying a cooling fan (unless you like the sound of jet aircraft! ;-) and making sure that the fan will fit with the case and mobo you're going to buy.
Not many new concepts, in that you still need a hard drive, mobo, graphics card, etc. But which bits you choose requires you to know what's worth buying today. And 2-year-old recommendations are way obsolete for that.