For what its worth i've seen the mother board in the flesh and there is no thermal paste in, on, or around the pins of the socket, the screw at the back does look badly fabricated to my amature eye and it is effecting the retention clip, I would say adversely.
I can confirm also that contrary to popular speculation the op is far from being a thirteen year old school boy - that being said, I am however someone who has spent thousands of pounds in oc's over the years & I think their refusal to even accept the return of the board (even when the op agreed the fee they said they would charge for an engineer to assess the board) makes me confident that I shall seriously consider taking my business else where in future.
all the best..
good day evereyone!!
strong post count to post content......

what i should have said is 