I'm wondering if I can o/c at all or it is worth trying.
Also, what are the quietest case fans and heatsink/cpu combos? I would be happy not O/c if I had a really quiest cpu fan, but if it's loud it better be o/cing
for a good quality hsf i would recommend the zalman cpns7000a-cu
Its huge, cools great and is practically silent. you could achieve a modest overclock with this cooler without sacrificing noise. On the other hand, if you want extreme overclocking, you either have to bite the bullet with a loud fan, or go watercooling to achieve the performance you need.
Note: the cooler i recommended doe NOT fit on all motherboards. See Zalman's site, they have a list of incompatable products.
You could always get a high-end CPU cooler and attach a fan controller to it. I have a Vantec Aeroflow with the TMD fan. Its extremely noisy (especially since I've been using watercooling), but paired with a Vantec Nexus fan controller it cools well yet is no louder than my old Koolance Exos (which is no small feat).
Baal, I myself run a CNPS6000. I had a look at the CNPS7000 when i went to Fry's while being at califest. If the CNPS7000 was compatible with AXP mobos i'd be running that instead.
Fern, dude you're mistaken. I have one here on my desk with the installation instructions for socket462 mobos no less. You must have been looking at a diff model.