I've been an AMD supporter/fan-boy for a while but I'd say this is my last AMD build.  

They're cheaper for sure, but I just built an i7 ivy bridge for a client's machine to test out my software and at the same clock speed, same core number, same cache it destroyed my AMD bull-dozer build in performance in a test.

I'd go with an intel i5 that ends with a K, this means it's unlocked to be overclocked.

I'd also go with Asus boards I really like their built in software called Auto-tuner that keeps over-clocking memory and processor until it becomes unstable, then it sets the speeds to the level they were before the unstable level.

I've also realized you only need 8 gb ram and no more unless you just like having the thought of a ton of ram.  If all you're doing is gaming and browsing you won't really come close to using 8gb, I come close sometimes when I'm developing, but that's because I have 5 IDE's open, 2 browsers running with 30 tabs each, etc, still haven't gone past 8gb.

I think most on here have agreed NVidia cards are preferred, but you'll get people who swear by ATI cards for video.

I'd go with the GT560ti or 570ti NVidia card.

Definitely if you can fit it into your budget get a 128 or 256 gb SSD as your main drive that has Windows and your software other than games installed.  Have like a 500gb or higher HDD as your storage drive and what you install your STEAM games on.

After using SSDs for the last few years, it's hard to use anything else.  It's worth the cost at this point.