Building a nice PC under 1k is entirely possible.
DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D $130
AMD Athlon X2 3800+ $296
eVGA 7800GT $250 after rebate
Corsair ValueSelect 2x1GB $152
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB $58
Fortron 450W PSU $50
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case $45
Total: $981
DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D $130
AMD Athlon X2 3800+ $296
eVGA 7800GT $250 after rebate
Corsair ValueSelect 2x1GB $152
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB $58
Fortron 450W PSU $50
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case $45
Total: $981