I have a Zalman CNPS10x cooler on my i5 2500k. At 4.5GHz, the temperature never goes above 28 degrees while idle, and 40 while at full load. Definitely recommend.

Thanks for the info slogga, exactly the kinda info I was chasing mate. Been eyeing off the CNPS10x. And with those kinds of temperatures i'll be considering one a lot more now. Aesthetically pleasing and a good performer. perfect.

Coolermaster Hyper212+ for a cheap low profile cooler with decent performance or a Thermalright Silver Arrow for the best air cooling on the market.

Stay away from the Prefilled water systems.

Got no idea what rand RAM you guys are running but there are issues with both the NH-D14 and the Silver Arrow, they both are too big for Corsair Dominator RAM kits. The heatsink/fan goes over the RAM slots on any conventional ATX / mATX board, making use of dominator ram and coolers impossible. BL.

The front noctua fan can be raise to clear high profile heatsinks, the silver arrow can be put in a pull/pull setup to avoid issues with high profile heatsinks and the fan can be raised slightly for heatsink profiles that are very close to the clearance height.

As for dominator, you can remove the top section of the heatsink to improve clearance.

www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=7943

one of them things