1) Graal is not capible of causing hardware damage like you described.
2) The Canadian Dollar is worth Less than the US Dollar. Something that costs $20 in US Dollars will cost about $26 in Canadian Dollars (It used to be a much bigger difference, but the US Economy is not very good right now, and Canada is finally getting stronger). Usually, things like Computers are more expensive in Canada because of Importing etc. but not by much. So things may SEEM more expensive in Canada, but it's just that one Canadian dollor is worth less than one US Dollar so it takes more money in Canadian curency to equal the same thing.
(I'm both a citizen in the US and Canada and spend equal time in both countries so this is personal experience.)
3) I built up my computer for about $1,200, this was a few months ago, and didn't include a monitor. What I have:
ANTEC CASE AND 380W PS
ASUS P4P800DX MB
P4 2.4GHz (800MHz FSB)
1GB DDR400
WD 120GB HD SATA (150 MB/s)
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB (8X AGP)
SB AUDIGY (5.1)
TEAC DVD
TEAC CD-RW
All black

I enjoy it. It cost more than it should of because I only put top-of-the-line stuff in it :o (e.g. ATI brand, not ATI licenced card, Corsair tested memory, etc.)
I'm very happy with it. The board is fantastic, and was one of the few non-intel boards recomended by Intel for 800MHz bus P4s
Next on my list for it is a flatscreen display, and black keyboard/mouse to finish up the looks
4) Most of my Hard-disk is filled with Media, Video and Audio. But it's stuff I create. I do a lot of film editing, recording, etc. Don't be quick to judge someone on the size of their HD. Anyone who downloads any of the popular P2P clients now-a-days is just asking for it anyway, they're filled with spy-ware. Lately for Music I've been using iTunes Music Store, it's pretty sweet, and a fair price.
5) Oh, I'm also on Cable now... 500 K/s is pretty sweet
Kigan
