Also whats the difference between SSD and the normal hard disk.
SSD (Solid State Drive) It is base on flash memory, commonly used in thumb drives, SD cards, Compact flash. It has no moving disk/parts as compared to HDD. It is usually expensive than HDD. A 128gb SSD is already $139 compared to HDD 1tb ~ $81 But the plus side is, it is extremely fast, faster than a regular HDD. It is commonly used for OS, some games and important programs. Usually faster response.
A good speed comparison can be seen in the video link below.
Comparation of HDD and SSD in The Windows 7 StartUp Test - YouTube
What will you recommend if the budget is nearer to $1.5K? Also what is the difference between intel i7 and i5? I will need the OS.
Difference between an i5 and an i7 is the hyper threading technology implemented on the i7. i5 has no hyper thread. But for gaming purpose, i5 is more than enough. Games do not utilize hyperthreading. Although yes you may argue back that the FPS in games could lead to probably 10-15fps extra from i7. But the price isn't justifiable.
A good Graphics Card will do the job well and give you real performance push in gamings.
Don't worry, you are one of the 90% of the people whom will think that i7 is for gaming, till you read most of the threads here. Even you go to the outside reseller they most probably say that play games need i7. They didn't do any research and they just probably bang anything to get their commission.
And for your budget 1.5k you could get slightly premium stuffs.
MSI B85m g43 + i5-4570 ~ $356
Gskills Ripjaws 2x4gb kit 1600mhz ~ $95
WD Blue 1tb ~ $81
Plextor M5P 128gb ~ $149
MSI GTX760 Twin Frozr 2gb + Seasonic m12ii 620W ~ $499
Fractal Design Arc Midi or Fractal Design Mini ~ $129
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM 64bit ~ $115
Samsung ODD ~ $21 (optional)
Total $1445 buy at tradepac, DIY.
If there is a need to go for a gtx770 can always go for the Leadtek GTX770 2gb ~ $585
And a Seasonic 620W psu @ $118.
That would probably burst your budget.