for American users: 1500 AUD = 1500 USD but australians pay more for everything (its called the f australians policy).
Umm you have plently of cash.
Umm i recomend you dont bother with MS office and save your self 100s by downloading Open Office, its free and currently using it, its basically MS office for free. Its endosed by the guys who made Java so its good stuff. check it out tho.
I recomend you buy the parts seperate and save your self 100s in put together fees. its not hard and all you need is an flash light and an screw drive and some screws for the mother board. And watch and few online videos and read the instructions and its very easy. I did it and the only problem i encounted was the screws which i had to buy and rasing the motherboard but it was nothing.
I got my stuff from centrecom in Melbourne, they are pretty good but there are other places.
I would say:
1. Core i7 processor (if you really then power go top range) but if you only want gaming then Core i5 i've heard is good for gaming, but i use an core i7 because i run heavy duty programs and its runs well. Should cost around 300 dollars for an i7 unless you want more then around 350-400 dollars
2. 8GB ram: 200 dollars
3. GPU: spend around 300-500 dollars in that department, AMD HD Radeon series are good and are an cheaper option then nvidia
4. if you want speed, split your HDD into 2 500 GB and RAID them, RAID increases your operating speeds by spliting the files over two HDD. No more than 50-75 dollars there, but depends on the HDD.
5. Case: Aluminum: dont spend any more than 100 dollars, and make sure there are some fans. Just use the one you have if its good enough.
6. Power Supply. I dont know there, research your parts and add up the power and go an bit over so if you do upgrade you dont need an power supply, more than likely you can use the one you already have.
And with the networking you have to look carefully at the Motherboard, find the one you want and make sure when getting an mother its compatiable with your CPU and RAM. Or you can always find an PCI card that has wireless networking or an usb one.
they are my pointers but dont take my word for it. Simple tips i can provide:
1. Dont buy Pre made: You are looking at paying twice to three times the price if you buy from dell or some places, its far cheaper to search around.
2. Do your research: Plan your stuff you are going to buy, check everything, then search for the best deals.
3. OEM MS Windows 7. Go to Ebay you can get one for 300 dollars off RRP: its the real deal but its the one MS supplies to sellers to pre install into there computers.
4. Dont buy what you dont need. Check what your requirements are and meet them for an 12 month period. trying to set yourself for the long haul wastes your money because you computer will be outdated in 18 months.
Good Luck, take your time.
Of Course That's Just My Opinion, I Could Be Wrong
