There are some great values on personal computers right now. Here's a few that stand out.

Desktop PCs:

Gateway SX2800-01 has an Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor. Most PCs have a dual core processor. This is a definite step up. You can find one for about $500. The only significant downside is that it has a small case, so upgrading things like video cards and memory can be pretty tricky.

The Dell Studio XPS desktop PC has been made available with Intel® Core™ i7-920 starting at about $750. This has an even higher level of performance that the Gateway listed above. If you can't find one of these in a store to try out, a similar value would be the PowerSpec B810 at about $800. These are available at Microcenter in Fairfax and Rockville.

Laptops:

The Dell studio 15 is now available with a version of the Intel® Core™ i7 designed for laptops. It starts at about $1,000.