which heatsink for amd dual core w/ removed IHS.

I am going to remove the IHS from my 4400+ and would like some advice on which heatsink to use. At my disposal I have an XP-120, SI-97A, and a OEM heatpipe cooler. I think that if I mod the retention brack on the mobo I can get any of them to mount. I worry about cracking the core during installation and removal. The SI-97A and OEM mount stright up and down, but the XP-120 needs to attach one side then the other with clips. I am leaning toward the SI-97A with a modded bracket. Please advise. Thank you.

there is no need to tell me the risks of removing the IHS, or that I only get a 1-2c drop in temp. My chip idles at 38-40c, i believe the IHS is either concave or not making good contact with the core.

I used a XP-120 on my Opty 144 IHS'less, worked flawlessly. I put 4 dots from an Athlon XP on the 4 corners of the chip just for the piece of mind (which btw makes no difference except protecting you chip 'kind've'). When I was applying the heatsink, all I did was set it close to on, lined up 2 similar clips (just one side), made sure they were attached, applied downward presure onto the heatsink (soft enough so i didnt break my chip), and used a pair of plyers to attac the other two. I saw a HUGE drop in temps. About 2 ~ 3C in Idle & 5 ~ 7C in Load

Without the HS on the cpu it is best to use a heatsink that screws down instead of using clips. Good ones are the tt big typhoon, tuniq tower, and the noctua nu12