$1300 or less budget build - need assistance

I'm going to bump this in hopes that someone will answer. Please assist  

TigerDirect is a great place to pay a lot more money than the part is worth. Check out Newegg...

RAM: $180 for 4 GB of 1600 mhz CL 8 RAM? You're joking, right? Here's a set of great sticks: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115.

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB. Same price, but much, much better.

Optical: Cheaper DVD burner in a combo w/ PSU

Mobo: Can't get any cheaper than that. Certainly not one that would be considered good. Get a board that will at least allow you to get 16 GB of RAM and potentially Crossfire: Asus M4A79XTD EVO. In a combo with the CPU for $279 after rebate.

Case: Not really one of the best. I highly recommend the HAF 922 for $100.

PSU: Crap, crap, crap. Not a good choice. Here's a quality PSU for less: OCZ StealthXStream 700W. In a combo with the optical for $69 after rebate.

Total w/ 5870: $1,018. You should really consider an i5-750 system. The changes would be:

CPU: i5-750 $200
Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E Pro $190

Total: $1,129

Thank you very much! I really appreciate the feedback.

Would the performance between the 965 and the i5 really be that substantial?

I'm assuming it's for gaming. The i5 is the best gaming CPU because of it's turbo boost. Turbo boost allows the i5 to overclock cores that are in use while others aren't. While gaming, typically only one core (possibly two) are in use, so the i5 can automatically overclock that core.

I would just point you to some benchmarks, but the problem is that they don't always say if they've turned turbo on or off. If it's off, the benchmarks are going to be similar for gaming. If it's on, the difference should be significant, but maybe not noticeable.

I will say that typically the 965 is not recommended much. The 965 is so close in price to the i5 that generally people build on the 955 or the i5 and skip the 965 altogether. The reason I recommended the i5 is that you've got a lot of budget left over. You basically have two reasonable upgrades: the 965 to the i5 or the 5870 to the 5970. Depending on your tendency to upgrade and rebuild, the suggestion may differ.

I see.

Would the 5970 fit in the case you recommended? I've been looking at some pictures and comparison's and apparently it's HUGE!

And could the 700w power supply take that much power?

The 700W PSU would be big enough for one. The 5970 would definitely fit in the HAF 922. It's basically a full tower.

Now, as far as the motherboard goes - would my computer be slower if I ran with the cheaper one? just out of curiosity. I'm trying to maybe cheapen it down a bit so I could perhaps get the 5970.

It won't have a noticeable affect on the operation. However, the odds of getting a bad board and failure down the line will increase.

Thank you very much, I'll update in a few days and show you exactly what I'm looking at. Also, though, my monitor connection failed, so uh...know anything about monitors?

Not really. You're probably looking for a 1900x one though.