[YourFoxyGrandma]

I've had 2 experiences with dell, both complete opposites of each other--customer service being either great or as horrible as one could imagine. That said, they're reliable machines for the most part. If you're computer saavy enough, dealing with their tech support shouldn't be a big problem anyway.

Alienware is another top manufacturer known mostly for gaming machines, but they can get pricey, especially with top of the line hardware.

As an aside, processor speed is vastly overrated when it comes to gaming; I'd definitely go with 64 bit architecture, but you definitely don't need the best of the best. Spending an extra $75 for another 200 MHz is a waste of money in most cases. Your RAM and video card should be your 2 top priorities, so keep that in mind when shopping around and comparing prices.