First build, low to mid budget

[railfrog]

Thanks Karma and bill....Have updated list to show mobo, memory and WD hard drive.

[KarmaKiller]

One more thing. You might want to switch out the E6850 for the E8400. It runs cooler, uses less power, and is a bit faster clock for clock compared to the E6850.
BT Shop - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz 6M Cache S775 1333MHZ (BX80570E8400)
And, it's a little cheaper.

[railfrog]

Originally Posted by KarmaKiller

One more thing. You might want to switch out the E6850 for the E8400. It runs cooler, uses less power, and is a bit faster clock for clock compared to the E6850.
BT Shop - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz 6M Cache S775 1333MHZ (BX80570E8400)
And, it's a little cheaper.

Thanks Karma.

Do Processors come with H/S and fan or do you have to get them seperately?

[KarmaKiller]

They come with stock units. Which normally work if you don't plan on OCing at all. If you want to venture into OCing, then you'll need something better then stock cooling.
BTW, those E8400's are GREAT overclockers. Most people get them in the 3.7Ghz -4.2Ghz range, with little v-core increase.

[BipolarBill]

The "retail box" version has the cooler. OEM doesn't.

[railfrog]

Would like to give the overclocking a go. What type of H/S and fan would i need for that?

[railfrog]

Are these boards any better or about the same?

Asus P5K-EPU Intel P35
DFI BIP35-T2R "Blood Iron" Intel P35
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3 Intel P35

[KarmaKiller]

Really, the other boards you listed are about the same. Same chipset and features, just a different brand.
But from what I've read, the Blood Iron OC's really nicely. If I had my choice, I'd probably go for it over the MSI. But the MSI is a solid board for the price.

And as far a HSF, it all depends really. What's your budget?
You can get a decent HSF like the Arctic Freezer Pro for cheap.(here it's like $25)
You could step up to a Xigmatek S1283 cooler for a little more, that's a little better then the Freezer. Or something like the Tuniq Tower for even more.
IMO, the Xigmatek is the best bang for the buck. It cools very well, and doesn't cost that much.
(I know you can't get anything from newegg, just a reference.)

[railfrog]

Originally Posted by KarmaKiller

Really, the other boards you listed are about the same. Same chipset and features, just a different brand.
But from what I've read, the Blood Iron OC's really nicely. If I had my choice, I'd probably go for it over the MSI. But the MSI is a solid board for the price.

Karma...Will the blood iron be able to take the 1066 memory?

[KarmaKiller]

Yes and no.. lol
It'll default the speed down to 800Mhz to begin with, but when you start OCing, you'll have more headroom on the RAM. More then likely, it'll end up around 1000Mhz to 1066Mhz, depending on how much you OC.
So worse case scenario, it'll run at 800Mhz. Best case, you'll OC up to stock speeds.
I myself would still opt for the faster RAM. It pays off in the long run IMO.