if i am OCing do i need otes

my spec is below and i have poor air flow do i need the otes installed..

because i see that the 7000 is throwing all the area around it by cool air so do i need the otes(it makes almost the most noise),, and since its a high speed fan even if slowed it down(fanmate??) it still makes noise

i am planning to OCing just as far as my memory allow(where??) so any one think where will i be able to go( to 3.2 or 3.4??)

No one needs OTES to overclock - and it's certainly not going to make much difference if your case has bad air flow. I had thought that removing the OTES was fairly straightforward (although I could easily be wrong) - can you see how far you can get with the OTES removed/installed or on/off? That'd answer your question definitively.

If it's the fan noise that's killing you, you could replace the fan.

i see what you mean..

then i will go ahead and try doing some heating.

although with the otes and without the zalman i could go to 3.0 only and stable any thing above that will crash even with out any buncheing or games..

What were you using instead of the Zalman?

I'd still like to know if the OTES can be removed and replaced without damaging the board. I know it's open on one end, but it will still trap air if the fan isn't on - I have a feeling that removing the OTES completely will offer better cooling than simply turning the OTES off and leaving it mounted to the board.

Incidentally, if bad case air flow is your problem, it might be a good idea to start working on that. Can you post any pics of your case/system?

i was using the stock cooling that came with the cpu...(intel HSF)..

and i already took the otes without any problems,, and yeah i really think this is true,,, taking it out is better then leaving it there not working..

and i will try later to post pic's..

but my case is what you call a genric product no front intake and and one rear mount and one side intake with a very bad led fan that make noise more then move air..

and my temps are..

now with the zalman..

idle 45-50

load 55-59..