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I'm planning to OC my Q6600 but before doing so I want to upgrade my heatsink so I can walk on the OC land a little bit safer. could you please suggest something good, I been looking for some Zalmans but I also see some other brands not so expensive but I don't know which ones you guys overclockers use and feel they keep your CPU as cool as possible. All advice highly appreciate it thanks!

Hard to beat Zalman for the money, and reliability. Keep it as simple as possible, and a matched set of heat sink and cpu fan is the wise approach.

Direct links to their coolers
Some look quite cool !

CPU coolers
http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Ca...orySecond=CAS1
and CPU water coolers:
http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Ca...orySecond=CAS8

This is a sweet one. Quiet and cools very well. I'm installing the Quad Core Q6600 tomorrow under one of these... My 3rd build using this cooler
LINK

*edited to restore forum formating*

My bad... Lost the internet connection while posting this...

This is one of the best coolers out there and along with a good fan such as a Yate Loon D12SM-12 or a Scythe S-Flex SFF21F it will provide superb cooling for your Q6600.

Why is this thread displaying 3 pages wide? Anybody

Thanks everybody! I want alternatives and you give me some, I really appreciate it, The one you suggest rage seems to cool like a beast, but if I put it togheter that price plus the fan it might become more expensive than zalmans and more important a little bit over my budget, the one tmagic suggest seem cheaper right now and I guess I'll trust that is his 3rd build and the good reviews on newegg.
I'm gonna give it a try! Thanks!

Im also using the one Tmagic suggested and its a nice HSF for the price.....

Thanks guys,
I dropped using zalman's because of the fan failures over time, price and no-so-easy installations. This ZeroTherm is very easy to install both on Intel and AMD processors. While it too is huge, it is quiet and very cool. Don't use the fan controller supplied. It is cheesy. Let the motherboard do the controlling. I've installed this in mid-towers with no trouble at all

I agree with that, the ZeroTherm Nirvana NV120 is the best 120mm cooler out there. The Thermalright Ultima-90 is also a good alternative, since it gives almost the same performance as the Ultra 120 but is much smaller. In any case, either choice will give you good cooling and overclocking performance.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Im still usng some Zalmans without any issues but the Zerotherm I think is easier to install overall.

Performance between the two is about the same comparing my two fairly similar cpus.

Hello again guys! I just received the ZeroTherm Nirvana (as always newegg is so fast!) but I ran out of artic silver 5, I was about to run to buy some but I noticed that inside the package it comes with some thermal compound of their own brand (ZeroTherm).
Tmagic, did you use it for your systems? if yes how is it? should I give it a try? or better run for the AS5?
What everybody else think? if I use this compound they provide am I going to notice a big difference from the AS5? Thanks again in advance for your advice

Go ahead and use the supplied thermal paste. It will be fine. Don't apply too much

Ok! Thanks for your quick reply, I can't wait to see the temps drop and start OC

Ok! Just installed (haven't overclock yet) I had 36-37 before right now I have 31-32 on the cpu, mobo was 35-36 right now is 27-28, maybe because I just turn on the system but I don't see the temps going any higher.
Well I'm gonna start playing with the OC, I'm goind to use the Bios settings from my ASUS Mobo, I think it will be safe for noobs like me in the overclocking field, Thanks and if you have any extra advice I'll be glad to hear it.