ASUS P5N-E SLI overclocking

[computabug]

Hi, I'm building a PC from used parts from ebay, looking at the P5N-E SLI or P5W DH DELUXE from ASUS with one of the following:

e2180 $35-ish
e4500 $60-ish
e7400 $70
e8200 $90-$140 (still bidding for next few days)
e8400 $150

My question is, which cpu would give me the best value for an all around pc? Not workstation or anything, I probably won't be doing any virtualization, except maybe for fun. I will be gaming, and I'm considering the GTX 260 or HD4770. Also, the P5N-E doesn't have a heatsink on the southbridge I will most likely be OCing the cpu, so will this bottleneck my cpu? How hot will the SB get, and will it be damaged over time? And will data going to my HDD's get corrupted if I OC with the system clock?

I'm also looking for an inexpensive hsf, maybe a Vedetta 2, any suggestions on which budget cooler to get? Hopefully one that's rated gold by overclockersclub or something. I once saw this CoolerMaster hsf with 2 120mm fans mounted side by side and it cooled the entire mobo, does anyone know what it's called? Thanks for any help.

 

[flyin15sec]

If you got the money then go for the E8400. But if money for your budget is a bit tight and it has to be between GTX260 or HD4770, take the GTX260 and go with a lower CPU, like E7400.

You can pickup standard SB heatsinks from various online vendors anywhere from $7 - $20. SB won't really get that hot, a passive heatsink should work fine. As for data corruption, I have both EVGA 650i Ultra and Asus P5N-D 750i, with OC processors, neither has had any data corruption. Keep PCIe frequency at 100mhz and you should be fine.

The best bang for the buck HSF, has to be the Xigmatek Dark Knight, it comes with a screw down bolt kit , for around $40. I think Vendetta2 default mounting kit is push pins.

The CM cooler your thinking about is Duorb. It's proven that tower style HSF designs work better. Get the DuOrb only if you have spacing issues with a tower design for your case.

 

[computabug]

$50 CAN for Xigmatek Dark Knight. Looks pretty cool though. Maybe something around the $20 mark hehe this is just a budget build I think I'd rather spend that extra money on the e84 instead of e74 though lol Does the Vedetta 2 perform well?

I was wondering if the P5N-E SLI has holes for mounting a SB heatsink on it, or do the holes come standard with all boards?

I'll take your word with the e7400 and buy a GTX260, sounds like the right choice. Yet to buy my first GeForce card lol all the cards in my house are ATI, dunno why chinese system builders favour ATI :S

Man it sounds like half of this thread belongs under home-made systems or something.