AMD 1st time build for around $800

i would go with vista 64bit so you can use all 4gigs of ram.

I'm assuming you will be overclocking that BE, if not you could probably cut out the Rifle cooler, and just use the one that comes with the CPU, to save a few bucks. Aside from that, looks like a good build. Oh and +1 to 64-bit vista.

You picked out a nice set-up. Everything you picked will work fine together.
I also like the cooling on that MSI HD4850.
What I would change if it were my system is:

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

These are only my suggestions if it were up to me. But like I said your system is fine.

I would go with the Antec 300 -
Nicer Case. Less Money.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Swap the PSU - And Ignore the NewEgg Ratings here.
No Active PFC (Never Consider a PSU w/o unless the PSU is Free)
Not 80+ Certified.
(Why get an inefficient PSU that will generate more heat due to the fact it wastes alot of energy in the conversion process?)

Here is one of many options..............
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Change the PSU to a Corsair 650TX ($72.24 at www.buy.com with free shipping). It's a top quality PSU (which I can't say about Hec), and it's powerful enough to let you add a second HD 4850 later if you need it.

+1 to the 64-bit Vista.

If you can afford $50 more get a K9A2 Platinum. It will do Crossfire at 16x+16x instead of 8x+8x and that helps in games.

Save $13 (after shipping) with an RC-690 case. It's a better case anyway, IMO.
http://www.buy.com/prod/cooler-master-690-without-power-supply/q/loc/101/206177908.html

If you anticipate ever getting a Phenom, consider DDR2-1066 memory, which works on 790GX boards. I used the one knotknut linked on my wife's recent build, and put some Crucial Ballistix DDR2-1066 on it [that never worked on any of three P35 boards].
+1 @zenmaster on PSU considerations, and +1 @aevm on the case (and PSU).

I prefer AEVM's case to the one I linked as well :>>

Scrap my PSU suggestion for the Corsair 650TX ($72.24 at www.buy.com with free shipping).

1st, go with the 64-bit version of Vista as there is no reason not to use it unless you want to hook up some really old hardware to it that only has 32-bit drivers. 2nd, you definitely need a better PSU. You don't want to trust your new system to a cheap PSU that could kill everything. Choose one of the following

Antec NeoPower 550 550W on special for $49.99 + 11.43 ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Antec EA650 650W $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W $99.99 with $20 mail in
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Any of those PSUs should be fine for cross firing that 4850, of course get the 650W to be safe, and anything more would probably be a bit of an overkill.

Finally, I'd go with a retail version of the DVD burner if only because it comes with a copy of Nero and things like screws and a cable.

i'm gonna suggest this power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

it's incredibly cheap after rebates, and OCZ is a reputable brand. i picked up the same one when i got my 4850 for a couple of dollars more, and i have nothing bad to say about it.

a quad core system for that price...here goes


BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail ............and....
AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HD985ZXAGHBOX - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
-$20.00 Combo
$268.99
$248.99 (this is a combo item)

the motherboard comes with the newer SB750 bridge which is great for overclocking black editions through ACC...although it has 8x speeds in crossfire and 16x for one card but I like it more b/c of the sb750 bridge..if crossfire is an option in your mind for the future then by all means get the 790fx with sb750 boards which are more expensive but have 16x-16x crossfireX..... as i said before the 9850Black edition (125 watt) can be overclocked higher with amd ACC thing on the sb750 bridge...




COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKA1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Real Power Pro 550W Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$99.99

the PSU in that cooler master 690 case is also a quality real power pro 550 watt series psu which is better then cooler master's previous extreme series, plus the case is also great quality wise with a lot of cooling and cable management system.....i have one


ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
ASUS Gift - World of Warcraft PC Game BLIZZARD - Trial Edition - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

$169.99 - $30 MIR

I like Asus quality and it is pre-overclocked...u can obviously go with the MSI one but its just my recommendation



G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$59.99


good memory for that price...check the reviews for it...OR
if u want dd2 1066 then go with this

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
i92.99 -$30 MIR = $62.99 ....so basically similar in price as the ddr2 800 after MIR (check reviews on newegg..some say rebate might be a little hard to get but since it is newegg so I am sure it'll be ok)





Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$99.99

64bit is the way to go with 4gb ram....




Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$74.99

very fast HD


SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$26.99


Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$5.99




ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$26.99

one of the best amd coolers for that price




Subtotal: $813.91-$30(MIR vga)= $783.91 (after MIR)

Or if u go with the faster kingston ram then=
$843.91- $30(MIR VGA) - $30 (MIR Kingston ram)= $786.91 (after MIR)

...i hope i didnt miss any thing

this is the best comp for your budget with quality components...
as u can see the total price is a good 60-65 dollars less then your range of $850 but u have to keep shipping in mind...otherwise u can go with the 9950black instead of 9850 and 790FX instead of 790GX and get it all for $850 IMHO.....let me know if it works for you..good luck and peace be upon all

Ok, I did switch back to the 64bit version of Vista. I had it earlier but was told some business applications(MS Office) would not work properly with it.

Changed to the Freezer 64 Pro cooler. I am planning on eventually overclocking the BE but it will probably be a couple of months since i have not done it before.

I had looked at the Antec 300 case but was unsure about the bottom mounted PSU. I had heard cable routing was a problem with that style. If I did go that way the 650 Corsair PSU from buy.com looks great and I had never been to buy.com before. I'll be checking it out shortly.

I don't plan on going to a quad core yet since dual cores are faster and cheaper for gaming, but the Cooler Master 690 case with the 550 PSU for 99.99 is very interesting. Is that a good and stable PSU?

I liked my first case but i'll seriously take a look at the coolermaster 690 PSU combo and the Antec 300 with the Corsair 650 PSU.

actually quad vs dual core for gaming have been a long debate but in all honesty if u r buildiing an AMD system at this time of the year it is not smart to go with a dual core, since most of the newer games like farcry 2, unreal tournamanet and other applications are multithreaded optimised for more then two cores......yes intels high end dual cores like the E8xxx are better then the entry level quads Q6600 for gaming at stock speeds but its not true in the case of a 5400+BE and 9850 X4 BE.......the phenoms are faster clock per clock compared to the windsore and brisbane cores so even in dual core optimised software a 2.8ghz brisbane = 2.5ghz phenom roughly........u can overclock both cpus to similar speeds of 3.0-3.2 ghz.




then is the PSU, here is a review of it..

http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/PowerSupply/coolerm...

you can check customer reviews of just the psu here

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N...


I am sure u will like the cm690 case if u dont have a preference for cheesy lights and too much fancy stuff in a computer case....it is a very decent looking case and the build quality is pretty high for that price....I know it cause I have one.......there is lots of room and has cable management as well...