The metal lines are normal I think, and as long as you can't see the pins facing up, you've got it in the right way
When you get the processor, the therml paste should already be below the heatsink, and is like a square strip with protection on it keeping it cold and wet. As soon as you take that off, you put the heatsink and fan ontop of the processor and clamp it.
If you wanted to change the paste, you'd then scrape the remains of the other one off carefully, and then reapply on the paste. Filling the entire chip in a thin layer and then placing the heatsink on top.
I have a green fan director thing that directs the stuff from this out through the fan. Looking in through the lines there seems to be dust. I take it it is a filter or a fan thing for the processor because it is right on top of it.
So u put the processor in with the little needles going right in. Then u put the thermal paste on the top of the processor wear the chip is. Then u put the heatsink on top of that and the heatsink is this metal line thing im talking about?
ok..........when looking for heatsinks on newegg they are like fans. They dont look a thing like the one i have now. And some of them are like $35-45. I dont think im looking at the same things.
Not all heatsinks look the same. Most are big metal objects with a fan on top (generic heatsink), but now they have these new things with heat pipes and stuff that don't use a fan so they look a little different.