Quote Originally Posted by Ace-a-Rue View Post
when i had to use my Abit QuadGT board to hot flash my IP35 Pro bios chip, i used the standard intel heatsink to mount on my "G0" Q6600 to boot it up at default everything...i was surprised, amazed at how much heat was coming off the intel HS being blown down around the surrounding parts of the cpu socket area...made me think that downward flowing air heatsinks are maybe not the best approach for attaining maximum overclock.
Warm moving air is still better than non-moving air pocket (excellent thermal insulator). As long as the warm air is below the IC temperature, there will be some cooling. Note that the MOSFETs, RAMs, and NB will also benefit with this type of CPU cooler. You don't want the best CPU cooler while neglecting the other major sources of heat.