for a Abit P35 Pro with E8400 (I plan to OC to 4ghz if possible to include 3-4 year life-span on rig).

well, if you mean a heatsink that comes premade with a fan on it (since all heatsinks need a fan) then probably the Zalman 9700 would be your best bet.  Otherwise just get a Thermalright 120 UE with a scythe S-flex fan like everyone else.  My temps with the TRUE 120 are 35C idle, 55C load. Zalman would likely be 5C higher depending on how well your chip overclocks.

Essentially the best air cooling heatsink is the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.  It doesn't come with a fan.  You can use any 120mm with it.  Yate Loon fans are inexpensive, but quiet and descent performance.  Scythe makes excellent fans, but you pay for it.

I use the Big Typhoon.. not saying whether or not it's the best.. but I like it. It's big and quiet.

Best for the money in my opinion is still the Tuniq Tower 120.  It can be had for $45 on average.  $86 for the Thermalright Ultra 120 and a Scythe fan is a little much to be spending for a couple degree difference in temperature IMHO.  

zerotherm nirvana, installs pretty easy. no need to lap it because its actually flat. and it comes with a good fan. you need to take the MB out of the case to install it though

It's just that these excellent coolers are just so dog-gone BIG, I would rather get a 3rd, 4th or 5th on a list of the top 10 if it was smaller.
 
How about which one is the smallest cooler out there that provides the best temperatures (fan or no fan).
 
p.s. Does the Tuniq Tower 120 come with a fan and as a "lol" I read a comment that when someone actually received the Tuniq they said "I hated my life for ordering it when I saw how HUGE it was".  I laughed my butt off when I read that.

Do you want quiet?
Do you want max cooling?
Is water a possibility?
 
Need the answer to those to make an educated decision.

 
 
No Water!
 
Not too worried about it being quiet as long as it doesn't sound like a buzz-saw, dropped in a blender, thrown in the back of a Formula-One Car Racing onto a F-16 Fighter Jet breaking the Mach 1 sound barrier!
 
Want to achieve 4ghz with the least sized cooler IF that is possible otherwise it's a TU-120

A tuniq tower is fairly quiet and has adjustable fan speed.  It comes with an included fan, but the heatsink is quite large.  Large heatsink surface areas generally equate to better heat dissapation.  You just have to have room for it.  It does, however, have a very secure method of attachment to the motherboard.

I was deciding between the Tuniq Tower or Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme + Scythe S-Flex SFF21F fan but wanted to see what the smallest heatsink was that provided the most cooling, not neccesarily the same temperatures as the BEST such as these 2 but the smallest that had the best temperature savings.
 
But as I stated if trying to achieve 4ghz states for me to take a certain path and that path is BIG\HUGE heatsinks then that is that.

I believe the Ultra 120 is smaller, but I've never owned one... only a Tuniq.  The price is what made the decision in my situation.  $45 vs $86 was an easy call.  Do you have an extremely small case or something? Why are you so concerned with size?

The Tuniq Tower 120 led version that i have has a fan that slides out from the middle of it ....
 
If it can cool my athlon 6400    it can probably cool a small nuclear reactor

lol concerned with size?
 
Hey now, size does matter

 
If you are concerned with size, get an Ultima 90.
 
Besides it's more about the whole package and how you use it.

So what is it to be "the size of the ship... or the motion in the ocean"
 
Really I guess I shouldn't be, I am getting a Antec 900 case with Abit IP35 Pro mobo but I guess my imagination doesn't fit with reality, I just get this picture of the mobo mounted on the side and this big heat-sink hanging down and the law-of-gravity is playing tricks on my brain.
 
[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2007/0701/borat_lebanon0109.jpg

Most larger sinks have backing plates.
 
My TRUE has been on for 3-4 months and I have had no problems with sagging.

go here...
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
 
I would go with Thermalright Ultra 120.. It wins on almost every site.

 
Heh, so does triple SLI 8800Ultras.  Price considerations have to be taken into account.

 
Yes let's use the analogy of a $2100 platform to compare heatsinks that are all under $100.
 
As was said, did he say anything about price/performance?

LOL, the Thermalright doesn't even come with a fan
 
"