yes some are dark and some are grey,you will noitce a slight gap between the pads this is normal,Dont remove them ,and dont put any other paste like arctic silver on,it will not do any good for temp wise,They run cool any way.on idle no oc you should have 24 to 31 temps depending on board used.MattieDaShark83 said:I've just got my replacement processor today!!! Quick question because i'm installing this one myself. I wasn't sure about the thermal compound. It is a retail e6600 with fan and heatsink. It didn't come with any thermal compound but under the heatsink there are 3 blackish looking spots about 1 inch long and a half inch wide. I'm guessing this would be the thermal paste correct?