Help with home building a computer

Whats your monitors rez and do you need a OS ?

the res is 1280 x 1024 on the monitor, ill probably end up using my sharp aquos 42 inch lcd tv in the future.

for the os im thinking of picking up windows 7 when im out and about, but if that doesnt work out i have xp and vista somewhere around here (would hope to not have to use vista)

1280x1024 is a very low res, and as such little graphics power would be needed to play at that res.

For that resolution, you need NOTHING more than an ATI Radeon 5830, or maybe a 5850 if you really wanna go crazy.

I don't think that the 5830 is a good choice, it certainly doesn't cost $230 for the performance it offers, a 5770 is a better buy, save your money and get a 5770.

besides at that resolution of 1280x1024 a 5770 is more than enough, heck even a much older card would of been. Let me give you an example, my old pc, that now i use to keep my data, had the fallowing specs:

AMD 5000+ BE.
Gigabyte GA-MA570 SLi
Zalman 9500
Corsair XMs 2x1GB 667mhz
Seagate 250gb 16mb
MSI 8600GTs turbo
Seasonic 500watt PSU
Ultra Aluminum Case
DELL 19" Monitor res: 1400 x 900

I did play crysis at mid settings with an average of 25fps, and it was playable enough

I recomend the fallowing:

CPU & Mobo: 1. ASUS M4A79XTD EVO: $119.99
2. AMD HDZ955FBGMBOX: $159.99
Combo Discount: -$20.00
Combo Price: $259.98
$10.00 Mail-In Rebate Card
Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $249.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Heat-Sink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212
$34.99
$7.56 Std. Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM & GPU: 1. Hightech Information System Ltd. H577FM1GD: $149.99
2. OCZ Technology OCZ3BE1600C8LV4GK: $124.99
Combo Discount: -$15.00
Combo Price: $259.98
$20.00 Mail-In Rebate Card
Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $239.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12
Original Price: $59.99
You Save: $5.00
$54.99
Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Case & PSU: 1. Antec Three Hundred Illusi: $69.99
2. Antec EA650: $74.99
Combo Discount: -$20.00
Combo Price: $124.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

DVD: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD
$19.99
$1.99 Std. Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Grand Total: $774.28 you said you needed win7 thats +$104.99 more.

Heck for just 1280 x 1024 and/or 1440 x 900 gaming this rig could definitely cut it and more- $543 less LCD, speakers, kb/mouse IMO for this res the HD 5k series aren't cheap enuff

while you are 100% right, nice build btw, i recommend a little more of his budget wise, because i factor that if he upgrade to a better monitor the build i posted will fallow, with no upgrade necessary, that translate into cheaper than building 1 cheap pc now and then upgrading or building a new one later.