Zalman VF1000 LED meets Asus 8800GTX

[Jodiuh]

so would the stock cooler

Not really. The stock cooler has fins that would block airflow going through if placed on top. A blower would be needed.

...the HR-03 is going to be better, it takes up 2 or three slots WITHOUT a fan.

3 slots w/ a fan, but you need to leave room for the fan to pull in, so effectively 4! That's what makes it so difficult. Tho a 120@1200 would be much quieter AND give better temps. For example, I'm running 60C load in 24C ambient w/ the HR-03 Plus and an X-Fi. And that still leaves us room for one 1 expansion card such as the popular areca, killer nic, physix card, or an X-Fi provided the 1st PCIe slot's not jacked as seen on the Commando/P5K boards from Asus.

EDIT: to make more sense