[Backburn]

Dood, still too much. If you get that much paste piling up on the edges (on your block photo) you've got way too much paste on there.

1) grab a syringe of arctic silver cremaique
2) Put 5 beads of AS on the processors IHS. One in each corner and in the center. When it comes to thermal paste, LESS is MORE.
3) Take a credit card and smooth it out on the IHS. You want the paste as thick as a human hair. The idea is that you want to smooth out/remove enough paste as possible. If you can see the surface of the processor, you have taken too much off.
4) Once it looks perfectly smooth/flat, no lines, bumps or smudges, put your block on.
5) Get the block on reasonably tight. Then enter your BIOS.
6) Go to the BIOS temperature monitor.
7) Start EQUALLY tightening down your block until the temp stops going down.
8) You're done.

I'd also like to know what your ambient temperature is.

P.S. NEVER put thermal paste on both the CPU and the block. One or the other. I prefer just putting it on the CPU.

-BB