The dual-core Penryns are mostly limited by a core clock ceiling and not an FSB wall, so it's entirely possible he's using an E8200 (2.66Ghz) rather than the E8400 (3.0Ghz). I speak from experience with my former E8400 that would do about ~4.34Ghz max 24/7 stable, which is (give or take) about the same as most E8200 owners will get.
That's about $175 worth of processor for the E8200, and figure another $175 for the 8800GT. Throw in an $80 Gigabyte P35 board, 4gb of ram for another $80, a DVDRW for about $30 and a 320GB SATAII drive for $50 and you've got a $600 (after shipping) pile of parts. I guess you'll need a PSU and case still if you don't have one laying around...
about $108 for each 1K PPD. How's that for a cost multiplier against the PS3?