Cantdrive,
If you're looking for a cheap monitor, check out any computer stores, in the UK, monitors can be as little as £130, which is around $225
I s'pose in the US you have a lot more different companies, why don't you check out Ebay.com
http://www.tomshardware.com/
I believe this site is American, and it gives a lot of good ideas / suggestions and prices for various hardware and components.