Well the monitor I had, which I bought back near the beginning of 2000 which at the time set me back around $700.00 (CDN)

I'd say all in, excluding the monitor, around $1,400.00 CDN. There was nothing on the market that could touch this for what the parts cost me. It took me an afternoon to install everything - with the motherboard being the most time consuming, but not difficult to do. I also bought at new ATX tower case to house everything with lots of spare room inside, as well as a 300 watt power supply. The case and power supply were about $80.00 It was really a matter of doing a lot of research, visiting pc and gamer sites, reading editors choice comments, reading comments on various message boards about what seemed to work best with what (regarding motherboards, hard drives, processors, video card reviews, etc.etc...)and then making a list of each and every component with manufacturer and model number, and then finding a computer wholesaler or discounter near me that had all the parts, and buying everything, coming home and assembling it. It was a very reward experience building it all myself and it taught me a lot.

I reckon to get a system comparable to this store bought, it would have been at least 2K - but even then you're stuck with whatever the manufacturer bundles as far as peripherals and components. Since there is very little markup and very slim profits on computers these days (5% profit on systems), any way the big boys can cut corners and use brand-name/compatible hardware, they'll do it. Also, avoid integrated motherboards, like those that have modems/sound cards built onto them. In the long run they'll give you nothing but grief.