Actually, I got started by running my 5850 in my gaming machine while I was at work and asleep. 350-375 MH/s on deepbit. That was maybe a month ago, and now I'm building my first mining rig with a 6950 with unlocked shaders, a 5850, and a 5830 (in the mail). Up and running and I expect to get over 1GH/s on BTC Guild.

Don't discount the process over one person's failures and naysaying.