My question is pretty simple...

I am building my first RIG this Thursady when my parts come in and hopefully things go well. My question is "do i need a CPU Fan/Heatsink?" if I am not overclocking. It seems very strange to me that you would need to get an additional cooler for your CPU other the one the CPU comes with.

I am getting the E8400

The specs of the RIG I am getting is this...
Gigabyte P35 board
8800GTS GPU
2gigs Ram (which I will have to modiy the voltage in the Bios)
600W PSU.

Now my understanding is that while not overclocking, I wont need need an additional fan/HS, but am I correct?

The one that comes with the CPU will be fine.

if your not overclocking the stock one is fine

Pay attention as you are seating the HSF. Sometimes it's a little tuff to lock it down properly. Eyeball your temps after you boot up to verify the HSF is nice and snug ...

Even though you don't plan on overclocking, some of the stock Intel fans leave a lot to be desired. Download and use Speedfan to get an idea of what the temps are running. If they go over 50c at idle, I'd invest in an aftermarket heatsink. There are several out there which don't cost very much. The closer you can get the CPU to 40c, the better.

I'd say, at a minimum you could spend $27 on this, it'd be worth it...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186134

...because, though you're not interested in overclocking today, if you stick around this forum...you will be...you will be.

...and then you'll wish you had just got this and been done with it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233003

As I'm typing this, I'm working on "burning in" a Xigamatek HDT-S1283 (Orthos). I'm using it to replace a Thermalright XP-90 that I've had for years. I've got to say I'm disappointed so far with the results. I've got an E2160 running at 3.24 ghz and this Xigamatek is running about 7 degrees celsius warmer than the Thermalright. Also, it is HUGE. A 120mm fan that is about an inch above the base. In my Antec P182, it fits by mere millimeters, and thats a large case. I'm going to probably try and remount it, maybe use a little extra AS-5, as the base is not perfectly flush. (The heatpipes running across it leave little cracks at the edges) Anybody with any experience with this heatsink? I would welcome the advice

Only reason you would want a 3rd party HSF is if you want a silent system or your going to OC and require additional (better) cooling, otherwise the stock HSF is just fine.

i put a thin strip of AS5 down each heatpipe and then seated it on the cpu. the thermal paste spreads out evenly and the excess runs into those cracks.

jwbb00 definitely reseat that xigmatek. i got mine last week for my x2 3800+. I had a thermalright si-120 on it before, couldnt take it past 2400 stable in prime95. got the xigmatek and its at 2900 stable for 10 hours. I had to reseat it twice to get it right though. make sure the pipes are directly over the IHS. also as jeremyrailton said, put extra thermal paste on the IHS and also put it on the heatsink as well to make sure the cracks have paste. good luck.

Thanks

Cool thanks for the input! I know they are fairly cheap and for the price probably worth getting. I just didnt get one with my purchase and hadn't planned on it until I saw a lot of people looking at new builds all getting one lol. So... I will probably start with none but I will get one in a couple weeks (sucks Ill have to take mobo out and install, but thats fun right )

Have any of you messed with this Fan/HS at all
ASUS V-60 92mm Vapo Bearing CPU Cooler --- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835101011

Seems a good price and looks really nice. Maybe its too big, I am not sure. Thoughts?