I did have a lot of research and by research I guess I use the term loosely to say reviews and such that I had - I built my computer a month or so ago when I posted here asking about Ibuypower I think and someone suggested I build my own since it's cheaper - and it was.

Just a few things of note:
1 - Were I you, I would at least consider the intel processors. Right now from what I read AMD is behind. I was like you, hellbent on an AMD build especially since their six cores are an order of magnitude cheaper than their intel counterparts. After much reading and searching (It took me about 1 - 1.5 months just to decide on parts) I found out that the intel 4 cores apparently are equal to or superior to the amd 6 cores. As far as games go, however, there was no real difference in the benchmarking. The thing that sold me was CAD - and rendering. Everywhere I read people said that intel was a must if you do CAD. Not sure why this is but I'm sure they know more about it than I do.

2 - Go with 6 gigs. On newegg a lot of RAM is commonly sold in 3 x 2 GB packages, so you can probably get a good deal and not have to spend extra money when you'll likely upgrade anyways

3 - Find a motherboard with 6 RAM slots. Just a future proofing thing you may never use more than 4 slots but who knows. It will make upgrading cheaper anyways. Plus if you're looking on newegg at reviews keep in mind that motherboards in general get a bad rap. I assume this is because they are akin to windows software, in which people get mad that everything under the sun isn't compatible with them. When designers make motherboards it seems like it would be hard to please everyone. I don't think I saw any motherboard get over 80% of 5 eggs. Just something to keep in mind.

4 - Don't get my case. I'll try to find the model and list it for you - I don't know what it is off the top of my head. It's got great airflow but it not only feels cheap but the front panel was broke in shipping due to poor packaging. I will be getting a new case soon

5 - I don't know much about it but from what I read SLI doesn't give a good cost/performance ratio. That is it say, putting two nice cards in SLI does boost performance obviously but does not double it and therefore you really don't get the full benefit of the second card. It's sort of like when the latest and greatest graphics cards come out and they are initially overpriced. If you buy them when they're new you aren't getting a good performance/cost ratio - rather buy one that has been on the market for about 6 months... that plus the older one will be less buggy. From what you say cost is important, so I wouldn't buy the very latest card, and I wouldn't SLI. My graphics card seems good for the price and I can get info for you too if you're interested - although I haven't taxed it greatly with anything more intensive than CAD or SC2.

Alright that's really all I can think of off the top of my head. If you have any questions or problems don't be afraid to ask. My latest build was also my first bottom-up build so I could likely help you with common mistakes you may make that I also made. Good luck