A few ways to cut costs:

FYI, Microcenter will match newegg's prices.

1) Get the PNY 9800GT 1GB for $100 either at newegg or microcenter (I tested this card with CS5 and it worked just fine with the hack)

2) Get the i7 930 for $200 at microcenter

3) 1TB Samsung F3 is $65 @ microcenter http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0340562
250GB Seagate is $45 for OS & Cache & Free shipping http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148469
1TB external USB is $80-90 at newegg and microcenter

Or look at this amazing deal: Hitachi 500GB for $39 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145299

4) 6GB Geil 1600MHz ran is $140 Newegg.com - GeIL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model GV36GB1600C9TC

5) Corsair 650w is $90 @ newegg: Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
Or SeaSonic 620w is $70 Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

SeaSonic is one of the top 3: PC Power & Cooling, SeaSonic & Corsair.

6) Look for a used case on craigslist

7) ASUS P6T is $230 Newegg.com - ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

8) Last I heard, students could get Win 7 for $30-40 but that might have changed. However, I found Win 7 Ultimate x64 for $100 for students Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade (64-bit) (Win) for $99.98 at Academic Superstore

AFAIK, the Retail Upgrade works just like it did with Vista, which means you install Win 7 WITHOUT a key and then use the 'Upgrade' function to install WITH a license key. You might not even need to install without a key first - I received the Win 7 upgrade that MS sends when I bought Vista Ultimate and it did not require any OS be installed; HOWEVER, this upgrade that I received might be different from the Retail Upgrade version.

The other benefit to getting the Retail version is that it can be moved from PC to PC whereas the OEM cannot (although its hard for MS to really know).

Alright, so I am going with the HP, unless anyone recommends a Dell, Acer, or another name brand for whatever reason.

Thanks guys!