First things first:
-whats your budget?
-would you rather buy a pc or build it?
-are you experienced in installing/removing pc parts (ie video cards, memory,...)
-do you have a credit card?
If your looking at just buying something. I would suggest going to fatwallet.com go to their "hot deals" forum. Then search for "dell" it will spit out the latest dell deal and how to get them. I would suggest that way to get it. Might save a bit of money and will have alot of software bundled.
If you would rather build it go through pricewatch.com for parts prices. Look at the ratings of the stores before buying anything. I recommend newegg.com for most parts.
www.pricewatch.com is the best way to go for the absolute best bang-for-buck. Just make sure you know exactly what you want and exactly what you're getting, and make sure you check the stores you're going to order from thru resellersratings.com just to be safe!
$1000 is what I built my first home-built for too many moons ago. Right now with a little forethought and shopping a grand will build you a HELL of a nice system lately.