Thermal paste question(newbie)

if you could provide a little more info .. anyway yes you absolutely must have some .. retail cpu's come with some approved for that system but there may be better stuff out there.. this can void the warranty though if you go with an oem chip and custom hsf I suggest arctic silver 3 as the best choice..see their webpage for use instructions
lagger

<b><font color=blue>Checking under my North<font color=red> AND</font color=red> South bridges for <font color=green>Trolls</font color=green></font color=blue>

they will probably supply a pad or some thermal grease .. in this case<b><font color=red> <i>personally</b></font color=red></i> I would use artic silver as it beats any bundled stuff they will give you but .. it might void the warranty
lagger

<b><font color=blue>Checking under my North<font color=red> AND</font color=red> South bridges for <font color=green>Trolls</font color=green></font color=blue>

yes but you will need to COMPETELY remove the old stuff and clean the HSF and chip surface with alcohol or similar solvent

lagger

<b><font color=blue>Checking under my North<font color=red> AND</font color=red> South bridges for <font color=green>Trolls</font color=green></font color=blue>