i love that question. id go with newegg. love prices, reviews, warranties, customer service., all great. so 1500. id get a quad core. Q9550 in particular, a gtx 260, or 280, could go sli making ur computer future proof basically, also get 4gb of g. skill for like 40$. ummm get 2 x 250gb seagates and go raid. get a 800w or greater. get the evga 780i(s if you want sli) or get the gigabyte p45. your choice. that should put you at 1500. but id go with an sli board and upgrade video cards in the future. get 1xgtx260, 2x2gb of g.skill, q9550, evga 780i, 2x250gb seagates, 800w or maybe even 1000w.