Oh to have $1500 to play with! All the upgrades I would buy....but alas, its just a dream for now. *wipes tears from eyes*
I shall have to experience computer heaven vicariously through the hands of consumers such as yourself, so lets get to work.
First off, do you have any preference for AMD or Intel? I happen to be partial to AMD myself (and this is where my expertise lies primarily), but I'm not a fanboy, and would love the opportunity to delve into the ins and outs of an Intel build. Up to you though.
A few things to help you along:
For AMD systems:
AMD just released a new socket (AM2) to replace socket 939. This means that there is no longer an upgrade path for 939 parts, but the platform is mature (the bugs have all been worked out of it), and components have a greater availability and are generally cheaper. Socket AM2 will host the current and next generation of AMD's product line (and maybe even the generation after that), but the platform is only a few weeks old, so there are probably bugs yet to be fixed, components are not as widely available, and they are generally more expensive (especially ram - 1 gb of DDR2-800 ram is more than twice as expensive as 1 gb of DDR1-400).
Single core AMD CPU's just dropped in price to awesomely low levels. Athlon 3000+ is $90-100, while the 3800+ is $140-150. Dual core CPU's are due for a price cut on July 24th, which should put the X2 3800+ in the $150-160 range. Sweet.
On the Intel side:
Intel is due to release the Core 2 (codenamed "Conroe") at the end of July. These are likely to take the performance crown away from AMD, in terms of both raw performance and performance per watt. The Conroes likely will hit the retail channels in September, so it is a bit of a wait to acquire one, although you can purchase a Conroe compatible mainboard now, and upgrade to Conroe when it comes out (then hawk the temporary CPU on Ebay to offset the cost of Conroe).
Intel just instituted massive price cuts across the board for their cpu lineup. Dual core Pentium D's start around $110 (you can hardly find the single core Pentium 4's anymore). Conroe will likely debut with the low end CPU at ~$300.
Your mainboard and ram will be determined after you choose your platform.
Cases are a matter of personal preference for the most part. They all pretty much do the same thing, the major differences being in the quality of construction and materials used. Low quality cases tend to have sharp edges inside, which can cut your fingers as you install components. Poor material quality causes things to break off (primarily applies to cases with doors covering the cd/dvd drive bays, with covers for the audio/USB/firewire ports, or other gizmos - temp gauges, fan controllers, fans that look like jet turbines, etc.). Some cases come with power supplies preinstalled, and these PS's are generally low quality, and should be removed and replaced. If you are going to tuck your case under your desk and never look at it, I would suggest that you avoid paying extra for a flashy case. On the other hand, if you want to show off your PC to everyone, then go ahead and buy a cool looking case. Silverstone, Lian Li, Antec, CoolerMaster, and Thermaltake all make good quality cases.
Power supplies you need to be careful with. A good quality PS is one of the most critical components of your build. Enermax, Antec, and Rosewill are generally good quality. I doubt you will need a 500W PS, but there is no harm in getting more than you need (other than to your wallet).
With $1500 to spend on a new system, I'm pretty sure we can cook you up a gaming rig that'll have you kickin' @ss and takin' names in no time >;o)
PS. I would hope that no one on this forum would mock you for not knowing all there is to know about components. I spend several hours ever day just reading tech articles and the THG forums, and helping out people such as yourself, and I still have a lot to learn (especially on the Intel side of things).
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