My maximum budget is $1300 and to be honest, I'm a noob. Some guys at the Whirlpool forums (australia) have helped me get this far, but a friend recommended that I come here and ask for advice.

Basically I will use this system mainly for Office, web browsing, dvd watching and some online Age of Empires (pretty much the only game I play).

Obviously I am over budget and am looking for suggestions on how to reduce the cost whilst maintaining a reliable system.

All prices are from www.msy.com.au and www.umart.com.au

Thanks : )

CPU Q9300 $298.00
MOBO EP45-DS4P $298.00
RAM OCZ 1066 $135.00
GPU GB 8800GT $198.00
HDD 2 X WD 250GB $114.00 (I want to have two bootable hard drives)
DVD SAMSUNG $25.00
CASE ELITE RC330 $69.00
SCREEN 22" SAMSUNG $272.00
PSU COOLERMASTER EXTREME 650 $95.00

OVERALL COST $1,504.00

Q6600 on that website was about 100 less than what you got right now.
http://www.umart.com.au/pro/produc [...] &sid=25771

Your motherboard seems expensive for where I live, like really expensive.
http://www.umart.com.au/pro/produc [...] &sid=31742
Only 150, I'm sure theres ones that are cheaper and better, i'm sorta stealing information from other peoples threads.

Thats 250 off what you got spent fright now going from those 2 websites

I'm no expert but I've seen people recommend these 2 items before.

Get the Q6600 and overclock to 3GHz, you'll be in great shape.

Swap Q300 to Q6600, EP45 to x38 and OCZ 1066 to G.Skill 800.

so you would recommend i stick with the Q9300? i actually don't know how to overclock *shame*

Even a Q6600 is overkill for your needs so just stick with that. you also don't need that 650W power supply. 500W would be plenty. I agree with the memory too, stick to 800, its much cheaper.

I'm not sure that game is particularly demanding. You could drop way back on a lot of things and not see a difference.
CPU: e7200
RAM: DDR2-800
mobo: P45 or even P35.
GPU: I'd probably choose an 8800GT, but a 9600GT is cheaper and quite likely enough; or perhaps an ATI HD3850. Heck, for a primarily Office build, and that older game, a 2600XT would probably be sufficient.
CoolerMaster cases are nice, PSUs less so, but you won't be stressing that one, so it should be fine.
Don't forget keyboard, rodent, speakers, surge protector, maybe other miscellaneous stuff.

I agree whole-heartedly with jtt. A quad core is total overkill for the intended load. A E7200 is plenty for the tasks listed. If you intend to keep this computer for a long time, or your usage changes, you can always upgrade CPU or GPU, but an E7200/9600GT is perfect for your situation. Also, the DS3P you listed is rediculously overpriced. Look for a DS3L (in P35, P43 or P45 form) for much less.

i agree with kyle. an E7200 is a very fast cpu, and a 9600GT, or possibly even a 9600GSO would be just fine. heck, i played AOE3 on my old P4 with a 7600GS maxed out. Also, if you don't plan on overclocking, you could save some money by getting a cheaper motherboard than a P35, maybe a G33? Also, forget the 1066Mhz RAM. DDR2 800Mhz is just as good. and if you get a less demanding video card, you could save some money by getting a cheaper power supply. Maybe an OCZ 500 watt?

Good Comments.
Most of his build is serious overkill for the OPs needes.

if you don't overclock at all, i suggest you go with a AMD root.
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz ......... $113
MB: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 ......$130
Ram: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ....... $45
GPU: ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB ...... $150 after $30 rebate
HDD: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies HDS721075KLA330 ...... $110 after $20 rebate
(i just get 1 big drive and make it into 2 partition)

The other stuff you listed are fine. I will put all money saved above, into a better monitor
at least SAMSUNG 245BW Black 24" 5ms Widescreen LCD for $400. 24" is a lot better than 22"

personally, i will choose a good case, and heatsink.
i will go Antec Nine Hundred....... $119
ARCTIC COOLING ACF64LP 60mm CPU Cooler ...... $22

all price are from Newegg.com

well i would look at it as more of an investment there might be a game he want to play in the fall. i would go for quad and a ati 4850 with a mid range $150 motherboard. and 800mhz ram. if you can spend the money. it may be a little overkill now but who knows you might find a game you like in the fall.

ATI 4850
Q6600

Put it this way. I have an e6600 and a really nice video card (gtx 260 superclocked). I can run crysis on high at 35fps with 4x AA 1600x1050. you dont need to spend 300 dollars on a processor. My brother uses an x1950 pro and a core 2 duo e 6450 or something like that, basically a step down from the e6600 and he can run world of warcraft (which is on basically the same graphical level as AoE) at 150 Fps all settings high. dont spend 300 on a mobo or processor. if you really want to get a e 8400 for 199.