First off thanks for all the replies really helpful information.

The purpose I started this thread was purely to gauge the effectiveness or going into mining for

INVESTMENT PURPOSES!

i.e. Even if I end up with 1 BTC in 12 months of Mining at a cost of $2500 (hardware + accessories) I am willing to take the risk as I am betting on the fact that BTC will go beyond $2500+

Basically I am trying to get my hands on as many BTC as possible through buying now and possibly mining.

Yes I could buy 1 BTC now @ roughly $750 - $850 p/BTC and hold onto that in comparison to purchasing a $500-$1000 that can give me BTC through mining and the ability to increase mining operations if feasible etc.

I do see the difficulty / mining efficiency problem. And this whole buy now ship later defeats the purpose as the Difficulty would have increasedd 100%-300% by the time they arrive i.e. (Blackarrow Feb 2014 del.)

Keen to see your answers in respect of starting a mining operation for investment purposes and building on top of that.