3.0 ghz OC on a Q6600 [G0] - What air cooling ?

Do I really need to spend that much on the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme + fan + squirty gunk to achieve healthy (long life) temps? Or will either the Tuniq Tower 120 or Noctua NH-U12F all-in-one - price attractive - combinations suffice for a 3.0 ghz overclock on a Q6600 [G0] ?

Proposed system - main bits:

Case: Silverstone TJ04 Black (bought)
PSU: Seasonic S12 600w (bought)
Mobo: Asus P5K Deluxe / Gigabyte GA P35-DQ6 --> X38 at this rate
CPU: Q6600 G0 --> whenever I can be guaranteed one.
RAM: 4GB Crucial Ballistix ddr2 pc2 6400 (bought)
GPU: Evga 8800 GTS 320MB / 640MB ACS3 KO --> price dependent - probably 320MB

HDD1: 1TB Hitachi / Samsung / Seagate - dust settling job
HDD2: £40 - £50 on a linux drive

Sound: - not creative & maybe later
Monitor Viewsonic VX924 19" (bought)
AllInOne card reader (bought) etc etc ....

Reason for the build is I want to further get into other things like 3D animation / Photoshop and building an affordable house at the end of the 1TB HDD. Input, ideas, thoughts welcome.

No idea yet, we will soon find out as they filter through.

Its all going to depend on how they are when they are overvolted, and if they are anything like the current lot, they will be hot.

It also depends on the individual CPU, the airflow of the case, the fans used and the ambient temp of the room as well.

No overclock is guaranteed. I think you need to approach it from a different angle - is the extra overclock/lower temps obtained from a "Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme + fan + squirty gunk" worth the extra cash over the other cooling solutions you mention. Only you can decide that, but as Clunk said, it's likely these chips will run hot regardless.

If you get one that hits 3GHz at stock voltages, then likely any high end cooling solution will be fine, but if you get a chip that needs lots of vcore to hit those speeds then you'll need the very best cooling so will likely benefit from the Thermalright. There's no simple answer - it will depend on the individual chip you get.

Personally, I have the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme sat here waiting to go on mine :)

Ive just started using the Scythe Mine and i am ASTONISHED by its performance (and quietness).

Its a big bugger though!

Thanks for the first hand feedback and points raised, I've digested and taken them on board.

Now I've got a real world idea that the Q6600 in general runs hot anyway, which I kinda knew because I remember the temp charts from various reviews, so if I do go for a 3ghz overclock, one thing's for sure - I won't skimp on the cost of the cooling now. I want decent longevity and life cycle from the chip above all else.

The other thing I'd better do is get the measuring stick out again and get accurate dimensions from the main air cooling contenders to ensure they really do fit in the Silverstone TJ04.

I know the TR U 120 Extreme is 16cm in height including the base, which would be tight but doable in a TJ04. Better check the Scythe Mine (familiar with Scythe Infinity and Ninja from anandtech) and Tuniq 120 out (again). I don't want any avoidable fcvk ups when I put this lot together.

Another thing (while I remember) I've seen complaints about some of the TR U 120 Ex's regarding the base of the heatsink being badly concave and the whole heatsinks movement when bolted to the motherboard. I reckon if you've shelled out that much for cooling I'd expect it fit and work without too much user input (lapping) - unreasonable?

I might still have a brain fart at the last second and wind up with a E6850 even though I know I can put a Q6600 to use ..doubtful, but stranger things have happened, hmmm. :p

The concave base is due to their manufacturing process, but although my ultra 120 extreme does move a bit, the performance is unlike anything I've seen before, far better than the AC7 Pro and Scythe Infinity I had.

My TR U 120 Extreme base is, if anything, very slightly convex in places, but I seriously doubt I could significantly improve it by lapping. It's definitely not concave. I had a hard time finding a truly straight edge to run across it to determine if it was even flat or not. Of course the flatness of the heat spreader on top of your processor will also be a factor and if that isn't flat, it doesn't really matter what the base of the HS is like. I'd like to thing that the heat spreaders on top of the processors are quite thin and have enough "give" or movement to allow for any large irregularities to be flattened out or compensated for once bolted down, and the HS compound does the rest.

I normally apply a very thin layer of compound on the CPU and then offer up the HS and see if it makes contact by looking for compound transfer between the two surfaces. If you have even transfer of thermal material between the two surfaces then they are making good contact and you have nothing to worry about.

With regards to movement - there is some slip movement from side to side once the HS is in place, but that's not uncommon and I've seen it with other TR heatsinks. It's just very slight movement that allows the two mated surfaces to slide across each other when lubricated with HS compound. I wouldn't let it concern you.

You can put some cardboard or plastic between the clamp and the heatsink to make it a tighter fit.