Need good Gaming desktop build ($2500 (AUD) budget)

ok im using pc part picker cuase it finds the best prices here is my insaine build http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/2frvC

Great post here, and welcome! I took your generous budget of $2500 and built this:

http://s28.postimg.org/3wmqx7g65/loadout.jpg

Alright. Just so as you know, this setup is going to cost a lot more than if you were to build it yourself. I highly suggest you look up Newegg or NCIX's videos on how to build a computer - it's actually a lot easier than you would imagine.

Here's what I would do:
Processor - i5-4570
Cooler - Corsair H100i
Motherboard - AsRock H87M-ITX
RAM - Gg.Skill 2x4GB Cs9, 1600MHz
OS Drive - Samsung 840 EVO, 120GB
Storage Drive - Western Digital Blue 1TB
Graphics Card - EVGA GTX 780ti, the non-ACX cooler (you want the heat blowing out the back)
Optical Drive - The cheapest one. If you need a CD drive.
Sound Card - none; your motherboard sound will be fine, and you don't have any room for a sound card
Case - BitFenix Prodigy mITX gaming case
PSU - Antec TruePower 560w
Wireless - none; a wired connection will be faster and more reliable
Operating system - Windows 8 is great if you remove the metro apps. If that's too much work and you don't want to do any customizing, get windows 7 home premium.
Office - if you want to have office pre-installed, get office 2013, NOT the new one you have to subscribe to.
Antivirus - I don't like any of their solutions. Use windows defender (already installed in windows 8, can download it for free from microsoft for windows 7) and a $15 lifetime licence to Malwarebytes Pro.
Keyboard - If you want to spend about $100 on a mechanical keyboard, talk to me. It'll last for years, and feels like typing on a cloud of boobs. (If not, the microsoft wired desktop 600 is a fine choice; keyboards are mostly the same aside from mechanical ones.)
Mouse - Razer Deathadder. I would suggest not buying from them and getting a deathadder black edition; it's a very well designed mouse, and the black edition is slightly sturdier.
Monitor - BenQ 24" Full HD 2Ms monitor
Speakers - Logitech 2.1 channel

This will get you a very good computer that also happens to be SMALL as gaming computers go, and has handles. This might not matter now, but in two years when you go off to college, you'll be thanking me.

Again, I reiterate that building it yourself is fun, is much cheaper, lets you be very proud of what you've done, and isn't that hard at all.

Just throwing out there, the other builds above are spending money in places you don't want it. For example, both those builds spent money to get an unlocked processor and a motherboard that can overclock - which you probably don't want to be doing until you've done a lot more research and likely built a computer yourself. They're also going to be large and heavy, and have a few other things that I would nitpick on. (Specifically, in magmcbride's rig, you could easily get more graphics power, have no use for a blu-ray drive [they're hideous to use on a PC anyways], has too large of a PSU, and uses an arguably worse operating system. [Though it doesn't have a learning curve; both OS's will coming from a Mac.] Oh, and it doesn't have a case. In legokill101's suggestion, he went with an SSD I wouldn't consider that reliable, SLI video cards, which are going to be a pain sometimes and are more likely to give you problems, and again, a large, heavy case.)

To answer your question, running two graphics cards in SLI or Crossfire can often give better performance for less money when compared to a single more expensive card. However, it relies on driver support, has issues, uses much more power and space, and produces more heat. And just throwing out there, a $630 card is pretty much considered "very expensive." ;P

Your motherboard will have a manual that will tell you how to put everything in, which you should use to look up where on your specific manual things go.

However, here's what I HIGHLY recommend every first-time build does. Go to youtube, and watch the video on how to put a computer together by Newegg and the one by NCIX. Figure out which one you like better. Then when you go to build your computer, right before you do it, watch the video again... then restart it, and go step by step, pausing the video to do each task. It helps keep you on track and makes the whole process a LOT easier.

In that case, I highly suggest you look at mechanical keyboard. Mine has MX blacks, which are the worst for typing because they have a higher actuation force, but going from a good mechanical keyboard (with hands used to an ergonomic keyboard) to that, within a few minutes, my words per minute had risen by about twenty. I do get some fatigue while writing an essay, however, so I would look at MX blues or browns if you're going to be a student for a while. (You'll know what that means as soon as you google switch types; it's a lot easier to read an article that has images and such to explain what the different switches do than if I were to try to explain it.)

And of course, again, I'm glad to answer any question you might throw my way. Also, just throwing out there back on the subject of keyboards. You might be tempted by "gaming" branded keyboards that come with macro keys. Don't bother, they're an absolute waste. Instead, make sure you get a full keyboard, and then use a free program called AutoHotKey to turn your numberpad into a free hotpad. It's pretty easy to figure out the basics, but the program can do very complicated tasks once you figure out how to ask it to. I play a few MMOs, and have my numberpad to automatically detect what MMO I'm playing, to use the numbers as the hotbar keys, to use plus and minus to scroll through hotbars, to use other buttons as macros for doing things like automatically casting my buffs one after the other with the exact right time in between or as a modifier to cast heals no matter what hotbar is active. Very useful.

Browns are supposed to be very nice, yeah.

As for power protection, yes, it absolutely does matter. I keep my computer (and 3 monitors) behind a 2200 J surge protector, and have another for my sound system and a third for the tv and associated boxes.

If you do get power outages often (I don't, just power surges and dirty power), then I would splurge and get a UPS; basically a battery backup that gives you a few minutes to save your work and shut down safely when the power goes out.

You do want to make sure you get a reliable surge protector and that it also has ports for your Ethernet connection. If you want to be very fancy, there are surge protectors that also filter and clean the power coming in, but that'll be a lot more expensive.

As for finding the best deal, consider looking at pcpartpicker.au - plug your parts in and it'll search your major online retailers for the best deals. Just bear in mind that you want to buy from some place with a decent return policy in case you get a part that's dead on arrival. It happens sometimes, and sucks, but doesn't hurt you if you did buy from a place that treats their customers well.

As for Execute's suggestion, that is an option, but building a computer really isn't that hard, nor is installing the OS.

In that case, a good surge protector is all you need. It'll run you about $40 - it should have 1800 J or more of protection, and make sure it's not one of those "energy saving" ones that cuts power to all outlets unless the main one is in use; they're really annoying.

I actually wouldn't change all that much; only things I might look at options for are motherboards and the PSU, but both of them are fine already. PC part picker has basically all modern parts, period. The only downside is that they don't actually sell them.

I'm more than happy to help, mate - that's what I'm here for.

First of all, don't bother getting the 4670K. The only thing the 'k' means is that it can overclock. I suggest going with a plain 4670 or 4570.

Also, know that you don't have to have the cooler; it'll just let your computer run much quieter; it's expensive in AUD. I would drop the cooler and just run stock - it'll be noiser, but much cheaper. (Yes, I know I recommended it in the first place. ) The other option, if you're interested in overclocking, is keeping the cooler and -K cpu and getting a z87 motherboard so you can overclock.

Check how long that power supply is for me now - I just remembered that I had hell with the first PSU in my prodigy because it was 160mm long and the prodigy needs a 140mm long PSU so you have room to route cables comfortably. A 160mm is fine, though - you can use motherboard spacers to set off the PSU out the back of the case a little.

Don't bother buying windows 8 professional - it has nothing you need over windows 8 home.

Consider buying the normal deathadder black; it's built a little better.

I personally don't like the part of the Das Keyboard that sticks up like that, so I bought a Leopold from the UK. Up to you.

Also, I wouldn't go with those speakers; they're an older model and you'll actually get better sound out of the LS21 for half the price.

Overclocking can easily get you 20-30% extra performance. Whether it's worth it or not is up to you. You would be able to set it up, yes, but it would require that you do a fair bit of research into how to do it properly. Yes, a budget cooler would still help with noise even running at stock, for sure.

There's a difference of almost $200 between them, which I would call significant. Instead of using the 212 EVO, I would consider a low profile cooler like the GeminII S524, which you can buy an aftermarket 140mm fan for - the larger the fan, the quieter it'll be.

150mm should be fine - it might be a little cramped getting the cables in there, but the fact that it's not modular will help with that.

Yes, you'll have all the cables you need, though I personally like to splurge on a pack of zip-ties; it makes the cable management so much easier. You don't need a lot; a 25 pack should be enough for the computer and monitor wires.

Oh, and just a note, on the Leopold keyboard, it's more expensive, so consider if that's worth it to you over the Das Keyboard; truely it's just a matter of looks to me.