Sub $700 AMD - First Build

[AMDThunder]

Now heres where I'd step a little more. Playing at 1920x1080 will really stress the 4850. The fan is going to spin up and make a lot of noise which you are trying to avoid. I'd actually go with a 4870 1gb for $150 - $10 mir. This combo will get a 4gb usb flash drive too for $1.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.210809

Now to power the 4870 and keep an option open for a crossfire system later, I'm suggesting the Corsair 750TX. The 650 has enough watts, but only has 2x6pin. So the 650 is fine if you choose the 4850s. The 4870 needs 2 per card and the 750TX has 4x6pin connectors leaving options open for the future.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

Total $702 + S/H about $720 - $45 in mail in rebates
Final $675

Huh? 4850 will run 1920x1080 just fine. I don't disagree on upgrading to the 4870, but lets not mislead people and have them thinking they're gonna get crap otherwise. On a larger size monitor, you may have a point. Anything under 22 or 23", it won't matter.

 

[skora]

Huh? 4850 will run 1920x1080 just fine. I don't disagree on upgrading to the 4870, but lets not mislead people and have them thinking they're gonna get crap otherwise. On a larger size monitor, you may have a point. Anything under 22 or 23", it won't matter.

In no way was I suggesting the 4850 is crap. My 4850 serves me well. But at that resolution, it has to work harder than the 4870 to do the same job. The OP wanted something quiet and I know my 4850 can sound like a small vacuum if I run the fan on high. Since there was room in their budget, I voted for the 4870 over the 4850.

 

[kuitems]

Sorry it took me so long to respond. Final order:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply
LITE-ON Black 24X CD/DVD Burner
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HD
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Triple-Core Black Processor
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
$632 with shipping not counting mail in rebates.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Nice build!

 

[Shnur]

wow! you fit that in a 700$ budget, it's a pro PC on a nice budget. Have fun with ModXStream OCZ PSU, they're awesome, seriously.

=D

 

[kuitems]

Got everything hooked up and running. Cables are a mess and I'm still trying to figure out how to partition my hard drive.

 

[yoyojam55]

What is it with this forum and suggesting Sirtec built PSUs? I hope it doesn't crap out too soon on you...

For partitioning you hard drive, download gparted and put it on a live CD. http://sourceforge.net/projects/gparted/files/

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

I don't know how Windows 7 does on setup(assuming that's what you are running), but I know on Vista when I did the setup, it did that for you as part of the setup, which is awesome, because I can remember having to use the old DOS commands back in the days of windows 95, anyone else remember that? Ok, starting to feel older now...lol.

 

[Shnur]

it's pretty straight up setting up partitions in Windows Vista/Seven, it asks you on what drive/partition you want to put it all, there's an "Advanced" option that gives you more choices, in this case you can basically go and make the partitions the size you want them and choose on which you want to put Windows on, it's pretty self-explanatory.