not necessarily. i created a gaming quality computer for 550 bucks =D.

specs?
amd 64 x2 5600 2.8ghz
160gig hard drive
500watt power supply
asrock mobo supports up to 8 gigs of memory
radeon x1950 pro 512 mb
2 gigs of ram from g.skill
coolermaster case 2 built in fans 80mm intake and 120mm exhaust

for about 720 bucks, i can upgrade to the 2900 hd, and its then gonna be practically unstoppable. and its fully upgradable.

however, as it is, it's not very expensive in comparison to the ps3. in fact its far cheaper when you take controllers, hd accessories and everything else into account. and its almost the same price as buying an xbox 360 with controllers and a game. so i wouldn't say a gaming quality pc is more expensive. again. if you choose your parts well, you can make a very nice pc.

you can salvage those parts and software tidbits from old computers. dvd drives and such aren't really all that much different now unless you absolutely want lightscribe or blu ray or something ridiculously expensive. and you can simply transfer XP from your old system to your new one. you know that. just wipe the old drive and install it on the new. stuff like monitors, keyboards and other peripherals aren't necessary to buy if you still have good ones.

what i meant by that graphical and aural stuff was the finer details like being able to INCREASE the resolution and turn on sound effects that would in some cases affect performance. it's not just the number of speakers. its the graphic equalizer, environmental sounds, and other small details.....also, why you would keep resolution the same on the 360 and the PC is beyond me especially if the PC resolution can go higher. i know that if i had a card and monitor that supported higher resolutions and same if not better framerates, i'd go with that rather than the 360.

there are ways to change things around, and there is more customizational ability with pcs. these sorts of differences are more subtle. not everyone notices it or cares for it. but nevertheless, for the enthusiast, the option is there, and for the enthusiasts, it's mighty important to be able to mess with it.

Well, gaming PC, £1000 if you shop around (can find good stuff, DELL outlet has awesome offers).
Console £300 + another £200 or so for a decent tv/monitor to play it on (unless you want the games to look aweful) + god knows how much money on accessories for it.

Thats £500+ already.
Add to that the extra £10-£20 on every game you buy over the PC equivalent cost.
Also, on PC's you can get budget games for £5 each, and old console game is at least £10-£15

Add it all up over the time you own that console, factor in all the extra stuff a PC can do (can't take an Open University course or do work or run an e-business off a console) and that console 'internet' is just a poor perverstion of the real one, thats so limited, when on PC's, anything is possible

PS3 not looking so awesome now is it, plus a £1000 should have Direct X10, all the 'next-gen' consoles are fundamentally DX9

i'm kinda looking forward to both bioshock and crysis for when i buy my rig. both of those games look fantastic.