OK, I'm just building a new machine (P4 2.53) and when I open all my boxes, it turned out I got a bare CPU, not a retail box kit, so I'm looking for a cooler for it. First Question however - there is a sticker on top of the CPU which says the warranty is invalid if removed - only thing is, this thing can't be good for cooling interface, surely. What should I do, remove it, or keep it on? Second. Now i'm looking for a cooler for the CPU. What do people recommend? I'm looking to OC it as close to 3Ghz as I can get, but want a quiet PC without spending the earth. Something that Maplin stock would be good as I want to build up this weekend, so anything I have to wait a few days for is bad. If they only sell rubbish, however, I guess I can wait. Thanks Si.
Yeah, vote for the Alpha, and if you don't mind noise, throwinf a Delta 80mm on there would keep it ultra chilly, but if you want quiet then a Panaflo or Papst 30-35cfm fan should be plenty good. Good luck.