Just a follow up.

First, thanks to all who have replied.

I've pretty much decided to go with something off the shelf, and, in fact came real close to buying one Saturday. I found a deal that, after the various rebates and promotional offers, would've have gotten an AMD Athlon 1.1 ghz, with a 17" monitor, printer and all the associated goodies (DVD, CDRW etc.) for less than 1K. Unfortunately, I hesitated and, as of Sunday, the deal was no more. For the time being (IOW, until something similar comes along) I'm going to wait.

Thanks again,