...well I can't order because while I was debating, NewEgg had stock on the CPU and memory and now don't.  Oyyyyyyyyyyyy.
 
Givens:
1)  I don't care about SLI
2)  I want stability first and foremost (who doesn't?)
3)  I've never overclocked but know the processor can so that and my GPU are what I want to OC
4)  I really want X38 but can't find a good enough solid board and DDR3 memory unless you guys recommend a combo...please?
 
Otherwise I'll use this and once the DDR3 settles and BIOS for X38 becomes more stable, I'll ditch the mobo and memory (keep for emergency) and basically wasted $230 but not the end of the world.
 
Thoughts?
 
Oh yeah, I heard the LITE-ON opticals can be noisy?  Better choice?
 
LATEST BUILD
PROCESSOR:  Intell E8400 ($210)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037
MOTHERBOARD:  GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX ($90)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059
MEMORY:  G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit ($145)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231166
GPU:  EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0  ($300)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130339
HARD DRIVES (primary):  Western Digital Velociraptor  ($300)
Not out until may
HARD DRIVE (secondary):  Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb ($110)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218
OPTICAL DRIVES:  Lite-On 20x LH-20A1L 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe ($34)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106072
POWER SUPPLY:  PC Power & Cooling QUAD S75QB EPS12V 750W Power Supply ($160)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] &Tpk=S75QB
CASE:  Lian Li PC-A70 ($250)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811112141
FANS:  Scyth S-Flex SFF21E (1200 RPM) - 6 of them ($90)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] Tpk=SFF21E
CPU COOLER:  Zalman CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan ($50)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835118003
FAN CONTROLLER:  Zalman MFC1 Plus-B Black 6 Channel Multi Fan Controller ($32)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811999171
SOUND:  Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer ($91)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6829102006
MISC:  X-Fi to FP Audio Port cable ($20)
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cat [...] 90dea9b21c

The E8400 is back in stock. It's also usually in stock at clubit or tigerdirect if you really want to order and newegg runs out again.
 
The Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS4 is a solid X38 board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128089
 
Try this optical drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151154

Heh I was looking at that board actually.  When I first looked at it, it was out of stock.
 
I don't mind ASUS boards (not that I used them ever) but I hate how I pay extra for WiFi and a soundcard I won't use (at least on the X38/DDR3 model I was looking at).
 
I think this might fit my bill, especially since the very last person to comment on it is using mostly what I planned on using (Other Thoughts: This is the first computer I have built. Using E8400 @ 3.75GHz, 4Gb (2*2Gb) 1066MHz GSkill RAM, EVGA 8800 GTS, OCZ 700W PSU, 150 Gb raptor HD)
 
BTW both memory and CPU still show 4/28 as dates they expect them back in   But I've seen it change from hour to hour so I'll keep checking.  I don't want to order one item while waiting a week on another when I have 30 days ticking...
 
Someone in another thread posted these two as possibly being good combo's for growth and OC options:
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128330
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227293
 
It's not the $$$ but lack of reviews that scare me.

Both CPU and memory are in stock on my screen. Try refreshing the page or clearing your cache.

If you're only doing moderate overclocking, you could go with the the 800MHz version of the ram. Should take you to at least 3.6GHz on the E8400 easily given you don't get any lemon parts, and to 4.0GHz if you overclock them to 445-ish FSB. Not bad for half the price...

Edit: Forgot to mention... you could save some money by dropping to the 610W version of the PSU. It'll be more than enough to power your system, especially since you're not going SLI.

@OP: Be careful with RAM higher than DDR2 800. Many users have reported (including me, actually did a test with a friend on P35-DS3L;DS4;DS3R (old version with out EP and stuff)) with RAM natively higher than DDR2 800. I recommend you get DDR2 800.

Nice choices on CPU, PSU, motherboard, case.

For CPU cooler take a look at Xigmatek HDT-S1283. It is ranked #1 at Frostytech. See:
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heat [...] ELHEATSINK

If interested in OCing checkout:P35-DS3L OCing Guide. Btw, those settings are smiler/same on all Gigabyte boards.

Shadow, I've heard about being careful of DDR2 higher than 800 but then the reviews on that RAM all seem so sexy that I would assume more people have issues with it.
 
Also, since I don't want to OC the RAM but rather just the processor (seems easier and more stable), its my understanding that the ram they sell at 1066 could just be better, more stable 800's?
 
This way I can buy the 1066 and not worry about OCing at all.
 
Does this make sense?  
 

Not true. The 1066 RAM is just factory OCed DDR2 800 RAM (90% of the time). You can set RAM at 1:1 (SPD 2) with out OCing RAM until FSB 400.

I'd just get DDR2-800 at the lowest timings you can (4-4-4-12) and OC the E8400 to 3.6Ghz, that keeps a 1:1 with the memory and should be fast enough that you wont need to worry about OCing the memory to OC the processor more. If you're mostly playing games as opposed to encoding video and things like that, you won't notice any difference after 3.6Ghz, and probably more realistically you wouldn't notice any difference if you OC beyond somewhere around 3.2Ghz. Things will depend much more on the video card and your screen resolution at that point.