Potential First Time Buyer

So, a bit of background. I've been playing games practically since I was in diapers. As the years go on, I got every new console which came out. Recently, I've been feeling a bit of lack luster from console games and turned to the PC for a fresh change of pace. I was introduced to mmorpgs, and a plethora of PC games. ive been borrowing a friends old rig for a while and really got into games like FFXIV, GUild Wars 2, WOW, and even got into the beta of the new Wildstar. Playing all those and looking at all the new future releases has made me think about taking ht plunge into the PCworld. But I'm a complete novice at this and don't really know what build fits my purposes. I want the best I can afford, and to future proof to some degree, but I dont want to overkill and pay for power I won't ever utilize.


Budget:
[First build. Looking to spend around $1,500
(excluding keyboard, monitor, mice, etc)]

Expectations:
[High Preformance. Ultra Graphics experience.
Expecting a powerhouse on a single monitor.
Possibility of overclocking.
Ability to upgrade ]

Usage:
[ Looking for a build that'll allow me to play games like, skyrim, ffxiv, wildstar,etc, on ultra "high" settings with great performance as well as run MS Office, web browsing, and music and video streaming.Only one monitor will be used for this rig.
Plan to do heavy mmorpg gaming and moderate to heavy use weekly]

Special Needs:
[No real special needs. If someone could explain why I would need overclock, that would be fantastic! Also if I should include a SSD in the build?
I really just want a PC to play these games with high frame rates at high setting, but also have the ability to upgrade at a later date and keep the pc going for some years( like 5 or so)]

I second Snaike's advice.     If you do want an overclocked cpu and the upgraded motherboard to match, the Virtue level 1 would give you the Vanquish lvl 4 performance plus the overclock.   But, it is over your budget so depends how important oc'ing is to you.

Good luck.

Yup - L4 Vanquish II best bang for your dollar...