New build, looking to lower the cost

Great build, some sensible cost cutting without hurting performance too much.
Get the combo deal for the E8400 and the Asus P5Q Pro, will save $20 over the E8500 combo deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037
Get an OEM DVD burner, just download the software from a good site, save $18
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106263
get a smaller, cheaper HD....eww save -$15
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148316
Start out running the E8400 with stock cooling, add the cooler later and then OC. - $37
Go with this Mushkin RAM - $23
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146731

about - $115 without too much loss in performance

also there are student discounts available for the operating system, look into that if you're a student or know one.

+1 for the E8400 and linked mushkin RAM.

The GA-EP45-DS3R would save you a little. The GA-EP45-DS3L would save even more if you don't need crossfire support.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128344 $126.99 -$20.00 MIR

or

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128345 $104.99 -$15.00 MIR

You can also go with this Sapphire GPU to save a little more $:

SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102770 $159.99 -$20.00 MIR

I would stick with the WD 6400AAKS if at all possible.

Just hope he doesn't have any issues with the Sapphire video card....I just officially(just got paid) sold my old 2900 Pro to a friend who had issues with their RMA service while trying to replace his X1900GT. And they make you pay them on top of the slow turn around times(due to sending it to Taiwan for possible fixing).

Well I was looking at 4850's on newegg, they have a Gigabyte for 169 with free shipping as well, all 3 have custom cooling solutions so then its all about dealing with RMA's and $10 between them(Sapp>+10>Gigabye>+10>Asus)
I'd rather spend the extra 10 over the sapphire and still save 10 and not have to deal with their RMA(god forbid you need to get a replacment at all)

good to see you avoided Sapphire....looks good, I'm partial to Mushkin. i have the silver version of your ram with 5-5-5-15 timings and have had 0 issues with it, they are also helpful with tightening timings or loosening them to get some extra speed on their forums

Good build. A good place to cut from this budget would to replace the CPU with a Wolfdale Pentium E5200 and overclock it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116072

Since it has a 12.5 multiplier you can overclock it pretty well without hitting insane FSB speeds. Running that CPU at the 1066 quad pumped bus would mean a core speed of around 3.3GHz. Of course, with overclocking your millage will vary. Just keep in mind that it has less cache than the E8400 and is essentially a low yield Wolfdale chip. You could also trim off a few bucks by going with a 500GB Hard Drive. Of course I'm more of the opinion that the more hard drive space the better .

I dont understand the Newegg obsession, nearly every item i see there is higher priced then www.zipzoomfly.com. Take a look there, i looked at the proccesor and mobo and it was like 10 dollars cheaper for the same exact stuff

jeremy9174 makes a good point and that is to always shop around and look for better deals. In the case of the E8400 and the Asus motherboard though Newegg also takes $35 bucks off in a combo deal.

I'm not suggesting their cards are of lower quality at all. Sapphire like every other major ATI/AMD partner makes excellent cards......BUT their RMA process is what bothers me.

Take EVGA for example(yes i know they do not make ATI cards) Their RMA service takes about 2 weeks(Standard) If you purchase advanced RMA they cross-ship the card. Basically if you purchase the EAR within 30days of buying the card you get almost a 50% discount, so for about the price of Sapphire's RMA charge of $15 you get an overnight Cross-shipped RMA. vs how ever long it takes Sapphire to ship your card to Hong Kong to be fixed then ship it back to the US, then back to you. Thats why I advise against Sapphire or any company that has a similar RMA process.