Thanks but yes, I removed the shroud. I have a second 9900 comming in today just in case the sink is not flat enough or the heatpipes leak. If that does not work I am considering laping my 920 and/or going liquid cool. I do not intend to run 24/7 much more than 3.6 Ghz so I am hoping a good air cooler will do it but 50 C is just too high with almost no load.