Need help/suggestions for building my first gaming PC

I have a budget of around $900-$1200. I've done a good amount of research but there are still some questions and concerns in terms of compatability issues and performance with some core parts. Obviously there is no clear cut anwsers to what I should get but I was just hoping for suggestions. I want to be able to run the latest and favorite games (BF3, LoL, Planetside 2, Tera) on max settings with great fps. I want a mobo that will allow me to easily upgrade my pc later on down the road. I dont care about having a blu-ray drive. Windows 8 is preffered I guess. Any suggestions? Like I said, I'm not expecting a response that will anwser ALL my questions but tips, advice, suggestions as to what would be a good setup or things to look for or stay away from would greatly be appreciated. I'm still learning and researching on my own build so any response is just extra info for me to take in! Thanks