Stock Heatsinks and the Thermal Grease they Come With

you use that for testing never use stock for long term

now there are a few examples that do not follow that rule, if you do extensive research such as stock zerotherm paste

regardless use this rule:

artic silver is very resilient and very reliable <this stuff is like playdoe
mx-2 is good but can delaminate <this is a huge shipping issue or long term issue

and that diamond based stuff might just be the best! <look it up youself!

as far as the liquid metal or same in patches = toss it!

artic is, has, and will be the paste to go too for reliablity!

Yeah dragon I planned on upgrading it in the future, and can anyone verify what g3force said? (Not that I don't trust you, but it seems a little odd to me.)

g3force speaks the truth.
The three grey strips are therml material, and will spread out when the cpu heats up.
The stock cooler is ok if you won't be overclocking. The fan can spin up under load, making it noisy.

Push pin coolers can be tricky to install.
A bad installation can lead to higher temperatures, and even cpu throttling.
With the pc powered down, gently rock the cooler to see if it is on solid, or if it wobbles a bit.
Push pin coolers are best installed while the motherboard is outside of the case.
You need to be able to look at the back of the board to verify that
all 4 pins are completely through and locked.
Play with the pins on the cooler first, so you can see exactly how they work.
Read the instructions that came with your retail cpu.
When pushing down on the pins, do a diagonal pair first.
If you don't, it is hard to get the last pin in.
Don't forget to clean the parts and reapply fresh thermal compound every time.
Don't try to reuse the TIM.
Rubbing alcohol is OK as a cleaner.
I use a paper coffee filter to clean with because it is lint free.
Any name brand TIM should be OK(as-5, Mx-2, etc.)
When applying the TIM, don't use too much, because it can act as an insulator.
Don't apply too little, either, because it won't spread and fill the microscopic
imperfections in the surfaces. A dollop about the size of a grain
of rice should be about right.

PS. I use OCZ Freeze thermal compound. Its cheap and it cools great. On my P4 I don't get over 55C+ on load.

Pushpins: ignore Intel's instructions. They say to install the motherboard first, then CPU and HSF. Install the HSF with the motherboard outside the case. Easier to check for proper installation. While you are at it, install the memory at the same time.