So... this was posted to Twitter today.  
https://twitter.com/EVGA_JacobF/status/817064619076251648/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
 

 

 
i do see a Thermal Pad...  
 
...  
now the question is, what are we even looking at here? what is under the hood?  
and will there be a Step Up Program or some solution for all us 1080 FTW or better said ACX 3.0 owners who will now feel shafted all over again because of the entire Thermal Pad thing?  
 
 
//edit:  
i'll add some CES news coverage and tl;dr of the more important statements so we can reduce speculation in the thread a little.  
 

 
official website: http://www.evga.com/icx/  
 
----
GTX 1070 FTW2:
 

 
GTX 1070 SC2:

 
 
JayZTwoCents : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHMKBusyUo8&t=5m30s 
- samples of GTX 1070 "FTW2" and "SC2" on display, seems the entire ACX 3.0 lineup is affected  
- new Backplate (more air vents, possibly better heat dissipation on the back of the PCB)  
- Heatsink is mounted better, the original was only connected by 4 screws around the GPU which resulted in the Heatsink sagging down from the PCB (which my card suffers from as well)  
 
TechPowerUp article: https://www.techpowerup.com/229354/evga-geforce-gtx-1080-and-gtx-1070-ftw2-and-sc2-graphics-cards-pictured
(additional pictures)  
- GeForce GTX 1070 SC2 (model: 08G-P4-6573-KR)
  GeForce GTX 1070 FTW2 (08G-P4-6676KR)
  GeForce GTX 1080 FTW2 (08G-P4-6686-KR).
- redesigned the PCBs ... from the ground up
- draw power from a pair of 8-pin PCIe power connectors.
- It [EVGA] plans to replace the current SC, FTW, and possibly Classified series graphics cards from its product stack, with these new cards.
 
wccftech article (stated source TechPowerUp): http://wccftech.com/evga-geforce-10-icx-cooling-new-pcb-vrm/  
- "The cards are also featuring a new PCB design that’s built from scratch. This was done to ensure that the new cards aren’t affected by faulty components or failing VRMs that were used on the older ACX variants."
 
GamersNexus : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toE8OcmWv6Y&t=30s 
- ventilated backplate  
- thermal pads on VRAM, VRM/Capacitor/Mosfet area  
- "will exist, side by side, at least for now with ACX but at different price points" <- inconsistent statement to the TechPower article???  
- actively cooled VRAM by contact  (i can't see what he is talking about in the video, maybe i'm blind, but it certainly sounds better than the NOT touching thermal pads that i had in my card.)  
 
 
-----------
 
for the record: these cards are not released yet, there is no point in asking Customer Support about them until they get word from higher up if there is going to be a Step Up program or anything at all. The Moderators here are also not having any special information that we don't.  
 
Please refrain from getting sucked into back and forth arguments, i know it is the internet and people love to argue their point to infinity and beyond, but other people also like to be able to see opinions and feedback of OTHER people and if there is actual new information it would be nice if it isn't overshadowed by petty back and forth arguments that keep going on for pages...  
keep it civil, the Moderators still have to do their actual job, even when bad language seems trivial to pay attention to in the overall context, lets not give them reason to "moderate" you.

Interesting.

I know this is the graphics card hub, but no one is going to mention the EVGA water cooled CPU block?

Hmm, need more information obviously, but I hope this doesn't mean we current FTW owners were all basically just full price beta testers for them :/

LEDs and backplate look great.

Lol ... nice way to replace the coolers of the old FTW cards.  Sigh ... I better hope we can "Step Up" to the new cooler.  I had to do 3 RMA's to get this thing in working order.

TheGuz4L
Lol ... nice way to replace the coolers of the old FTW cards.  Sigh ... I better hope we can "Step Up" to the new cooler.  I had to do 3 RMA's to get this thing in working order.

My GTX 1070 FTW wasn't too bad and I only ordered the thermal mod since it was recommended not because I thought it was needed. I also had more issues with 1070s when I tried to activate SLI between 2 cards on the Z170 FTW board and they pulled some weird stuff since I have 2 panels but don't use surround at all times.

I don't appreciate that the value of current cards will drop. It appears to be a major redesign which means the previous one was faulty. I don't think anyone is happy if you read the twitter post.

mkrazymike
this is complete bs you should honor ftw owners a replacement with this card,or a dam refund

Calling EVGA tomorrow. Sorry, I didn't drop my money on EVGA 1070 and 1080 so I can suck up with some ghetto pads fix. 

Seriously. Lack of shame. They screw the pooch and now design the cooling solution that they should have in the first place and have the gall to act like it's an amazing new product. EVGA beta testers confirmed.

WMcCravey
 
 
"Game with safety and piece of mind"
So you are flat out saying that the old FTW cards are unsafe?

 
pretty much,this is a shame by evga i spent thousands of dollars on there product well knowing they screwed up?again either rma our cards for this one or refund us simple.

Sajin

WMcCravey
 
 
"Game with safety and piece of mind"
So you are flat out saying that the old FTW cards are unsafe?

mkrazymike

WMcCravey
 
 
"Game with safety and piece of mind"
So you are flat out saying that the old FTW cards are unsafe?

 
pretty much,this is a shame by evga i spent thousands of dollars on there product knowing they screwed up?again either rma our cards for this one or refund us simple.

Nothing was wrong with the older cards. 

 
nothing was wrong with them?so why the need for the vram thermal pads?and my card over giving me issues?

mkrazymike

Sajin

WMcCravey
 
 
"Game with safety and piece of mind"
So you are flat out saying that the old FTW cards are unsafe?

mkrazymike

WMcCravey
 
 
"Game with safety and piece of mind"
So you are flat out saying that the old FTW cards are unsafe?

 
pretty much,this is a shame by evga i spent thousands of dollars on there product knowing they screwed up?again either rma our cards for this one or refund us simple.

Nothing was wrong with the older cards. 

 
nothing was wrong with them?so why the need for the vram thermal pads?and my card over giving me issues?

Additional thermal pads were offered just in case users wanted to lower their temps further. 

Hello all, 
 
We do appreciate the feedback regarding the products being shown at CES 2017.  Please keep in mind that we currently have no details regarding these items and some are considered proof of concept.  Regarding the iCX/FTW2, please stay tuned for further information coming in the near future which will be displayed here: http://www.evga.com/icx/    Again, thank you for your feedback, any further concerns can be emailed to webmaster@evga.com, but please note again that we have no further details at this time. 

Bar81

Sajin

mkrazymike

Sajin

WMcCravey


"Game with safety and piece of mind"
So you are flat out saying that the old FTW cards are unsafe?

mkrazymike

WMcCravey


"Game with safety and piece of mind"
So you are flat out saying that the old FTW cards are unsafe?

pretty much,this is a shame by evga i spent thousands of dollars on there product knowing they screwed up?again either rma our cards for this one or refund us simple.

Nothing was wrong with the older cards. 

nothing was wrong with them?so why the need for the vram thermal pads?and my card over giving me issues?

Additional thermal pads were offered just in case users wanted to lower their temps further. 

Did you also buy the bridge in Brooklyn?

The bios update was because the cards were too quiet. :P