New E6600 system..... any OC prep comments?

Howdy! I've done a fair bit of reading for a home-built computer but am nub in the grand scheme of things. I've selected my components and while I've installed stuff like video cards & hard drives I'm having someone more experienced put it together & do some basic tests.

I see no need to overclock for awhile, but when the time comes I would like to do so with minimal effort. Considering my specs, does it look like I'm missing something? How could I maximize the potential of the hardware? And why why why does everyone mess with their MB to replace the thermal compound? Is the stuff on an uber-leet Asus board really that bad?!?!?!?!?!

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo "Conroe" E6600
Motherboard: ASUS P5W DH DELUXE
CPU Fan: Zalman CPU Cooler CNPS7700-AlCu Alumi-Core Fan Speed Controller
Case: Antec P180 Silver
Memory: OCZ DDR2-1000 PC2-8000 Platinum XTC 2GB (2x1024MB) Dual Channel Kit
Video: Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900 GT(575MHz) 256MB
Audio: Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
Hard Drive 1: Western Digital Raptor Enterprise SATA 72GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Buffer
Hard Drive 2: Western Digital Caviar 250GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer
Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream 700 Watt Power Supply
DVD/CD writer: LG GSA-H10L 16X/16X DVD-RW BLACK INTERNAL

Any comments/criticism of this set-up will be welcome

System looks fine as far as components.
Also arctic silver/equivalent>white crap paste glue junk.
Not to mention yeah just yeah use it.

You can up your fsb a little for easy oc you don't even need the aftermarket cooler for non OC'ing but it should run cooler/quiter than stock most likely.
I don't know what your Q is tho =P

For what it's worth, I just built a similar system last night - P180B, Asus P5B (not Deluxe), E6600, Stock cooler, and Corsair CAS4 DDR2 800 Ram.

I am testing the white goop on the stock cooler, in order to understand the effect of the case - but even with stock and goop in place, I have yet to go over 45C. Still a bit high for some, but I am absolutely sold on both the good looks and functionality of the P180B.

Also - since my last system was a Prescot 3.2MHZ, which doubled as a warming plate for the holidays, I was VERY impressed with the ASUS MB, and the fact that it's BIOS update functionality recognized my pen drive, and updated quickly without any issue.

Like you, I am quite happy with the current speed, but once this fix wears off, I will likely be working on the OC ability of the setup. In the mean time, I will work on getting the CPU as cold as I can on stock settings. The Zalman HS/fan (in my warming plate) has done wonders for me in the past - and I would like to get one in the new system.

Did you have any problems installing the Zalman HS/Fan?

Cheers.