Hey guys this is going to be my first build and I want to see if the parts I chose are compatible with each other and any recommendations for parts would be appreciated. I don’t play much graphic intensive games. I only play warcraft 3 currently and when starcraft 3 comes out I will probably want to play that. My budget is about 1k.

CPU: Intel Pentium E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
^I initially wanted to get the E8400, but since I only play warcraft 3 at the moment I thought the E8400 would be overkill. So, I decided to get the E2160 since it has good O.C potential (if I ever decided to OC it) and it is only 69 dollar including shipping at newegg.

CPU Cooler: I don't know if I should really get one for the E2160 since I read reviews where the E2160 was able to O.C to about 3GHz with the stock cooler. I would mind buying one though since I will be able to use the heatsink on the E8400 when I upgrade.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard
^I have read many great reviews on this board and the price on this MOBO fits my budget really well. I read that it is pretty good for O.C. which may be nice to know if I O.C. I was wondering if the E2160 would work without needing to flash the BIOS of the board.

Memory: OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
^I got these from a friend a while ago as a gift. So I already have these at hand and am just wondering if it will play well with the MOBO I selected.

Video Card: EVGA 256-P2-N429-LR GeForce 7200GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card
^I figured since I am only going to play warcraft 3 for the time being I don’t really need a good video card. My friend got one of these for free and he’s going to give me it. I am most definitely going to upgrade in the future, but since it was free I decided to use it for the time being and wait until the prices for the 8800GT drop even more =)

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply
^I have read many articles emphasizing the importance of a quality PSU and I have decided to listen to the experts’ advice. I’m not sure if 450W is enough for my build though. With only 450W will I be able to keep this PSU even if I decide to upgrade the E2160 to a E8400?

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
^I really like the Seagate 5 Yr Warranty. I already have one of these on my current rig and I will move to over to the new rig I will be building and I think I will add another one since the current drive is about to run out of room.

DVD/CD Drive: SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B
^I chose a SATA model because I don’t want the big IDE ribbon cables. I am one of those people who like the inside of the computer to be tidy and the IDE cables seem really ugly to me =D The price on this drive is also very nice.

OS: Windows XP Home
^I will be using XP for this build. I have heard that if you go to some University's you get free or a discount for Windows XP. I was just wondering if this was true because I wouldn't want to shell out 90 dollar when I could have gotten it for free or at a discounted store. (I'm going to go to UC Riverside if that makes a difference)

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
^I really like the design of this case and it seems to offer a lot of airflow. I will probably try to snatch one when I see it on sale.

Monitor: I am going to get one of these off a local retail store so it would be easier for me to get a replacement if there is a lot of dead pixels on them. I don't know much about monitors, but is there any particular specs to look at when picking one out?

Thanks in advance!!

Excellent build....very well researched.

Just one thing..that HD...get the 7200.11 instead. Otherwise nice CPU, mobo, RAM, PSU. ...... And yes, 450VX is powerful enough for your build even if you upgrade to E8400 and 8800GT, no problems.

Cooler...get the XIGMATEK HDT S1283. Costs $36.

Looks very good.

As a student, you can get an academic version of Vista. I don't know about XP, but I see no reason not to use Vista with today's hardware.

Spend what you can afford on a monitor, it will be useful for several generations of PC's. Look for a large viewing angle(like 178 degrees, both horizontal and vertical). Cheaper monitors look washed out if you don't hold your head exactly in the center in front of them.

Thanks for the advice mihirkula and geofelt.

I have read many great reviews on the XIGMATEK HDT S1283, but I'm not sure if it is really needed for the E2160 when I O.C. it.

I was just wondering if there is a difference in the academic version of Vista.

Also, does anyone know any particular good brand for monitors in the mid-level quality range?

You are not supposed to use it once you leave school but thats just in the EULA- it won't stop working or anything. No differences in features.

I like my Acer. 22" LCD for ~ 230 at Newegg.

Acer...Samsung...Viewsonic...HannsG all good brands of LCDs.

Thanks for all the quality brands. I don't really know what the specs on monitors are so is there anything to look at for example, contrast ratio and specs like that?

Also, I checked on Newegg that the P35-DS3L board is being replaced by the newer EP35-DS3L board. I am wondering if anyone here has any experience with the newer board. I have heard some people say that the newer board doesn't seem to like to save the changes to the CPU O.C.

The newer board does not overclock as well and only has one PCI-E x16 slot. I would stick with the older one.

I just checked the specs on both board, and both only have 1 PCI-E x16 slot, but hearing that the newer board doesn't O.C as well is a big turn off for me.

Yeah, I noticed both are only 1. I read it wrong, but several reviewers are saying the newer board does not O/C as well.