What to go with Radeon HD5970?
 

I just bought a Diamond Radeon HD5970 from newegg for $300 on impulse.

Can someone suggest a system to go with it? I need a motherboard, power supply (that can handle the 5970), case, processor, ram (not sure how much), 1 reasonably-sized SSD, a DVD writer, and Windows 7 Pro. I already have other regular SATA hard-drives. Can it be done for $1000 pre-tax?

My last system was a AMD64x2 4200+ from 2005...:o

Edit: My budget is $1000 pre-tax for the items mentioned above - excluding video card (which I already paid for).

I'd like to build a gaming computer!

what's it for?

asus p8z68-v pro + core i5 2500k (was sold out for $300...likely run you $360-400)
any reliable 600W p/s antec..corsair..seasonic ($60+)
any 2X4GB ram kit..1333MHz is probably enough ($40)
most dvd writers out there are decent ($10-20)

that gives you $200ish for SSD and win 7

win 7 i'm they have those student/employer discounts from time to time
I'm a noob at SSD so someone else can chime in
1000 is definitely do-able if you look for sales/pricematch
z68-v pro + 2500k maybe overkill if the only taxing thing you are doing is light gaming...but it has amazing overclocking potential should you choose that in the future

PSU: 750w should be safe, try seasonic or corsair
case: azza solano 1000, or hurricane, or similar. Get a full tower
motherboard: intel for performance, amd if you're a bit more on the budget side. p8z68 series would be nice if you're going intel, lx should be more than enough, your pick on the price and features
cpu: i5 2500k suggested as a sweet spot; intel for performance, amd if you're on a budget.
ram: 4gb, or 8gb if you want more just in case for photo/video editing or rendering. I'm using g skill ripjaws, decent price for what you get.
ssd: 160gb intel 320 series is on sale right now. intel and crucial are regarded as the more reliable performance brands at the moment: blazingly fast and stable.
dvd writer: get whatever's on sale, usually a samsung or lg. It'll do its job for about $20-30
You should be able to get that for under 1 grand, maybe not including that video card of yours hehe. Just my suggestions from my own research and preferences. Some links to what I'd get down below.

My own setup if you want something of a reference (it's relatively up to date):
i5 2500k (k = unlocked multiplier, you can overclock it) $200
p8p67 deluxe $200
x-fi titanium hd sound card $150
HD 4850 video card, bit old, will be updating next.
g skill ripjaws 1600mhz, 2x4gb $50
2x caviar black 600gb, 1x caviar green 2tb, 1x agility 3 ssd 60gb $100(crapped out on me, in RMA process), crucial m4 120gb $200(going strong, swapped over to my laptop for now)
seasonic m12d 750w $100
azza solano 1000 $70

NCIX.com - Buy Intel 320 Series GEN3 160GB 2.5IN SSD SATA2 Solid State Disk Flash Drive Retail W/ Bracket - Intel - SSDSA2CW160G3K5 - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy Seasonic X760 Gold ATX 12V 24PIN 750W Active PFC 80PLUS Gold Modular SLI Ready Power Supply - Seasonic Electronics - X-760 Gold - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair Vengeance CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit - Corsair - CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9 - in Canada

lol i'll save you some costs XD

I can sell you a Win 7 Pro code for $40...got it with my MIS course at UBC but no use for it..let me know =]

I'm interested, but where could I get a installation disc for cheap/free? I'd prefer not to have to "download" it...

^if i can still find in my system i have a digital copy of both the 32 and 64 bit..

dnt worry its legit downloaded version..cos for the student codes you had the option of downloading the install rather than pay for the disc.

I ended up getting:

ASUS P8Z68-V LX $134
Intel Core i5 2500 Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB $199

Did I cheap out on the motherboard and/or processor?

in a way yes
would've just gotten 2500k...either you buy thinking about overclocking potential or you just settle for pretty much the cheapest quad core (i3)...not a great value to settle for something in between IMO

as most games do not utilize much CPU power at all

FYI all i3 are only dual cores, quad threaded if it has hyperthreading but it'll never compare to a true quad core. He could've gotten a cheaper i5, but frankly the 2500 is a pretty good one considering the price/performance.

To be honest you should have spent the extra for the unlocked version.