The things that concern me the most are what happens to the people who:
1. Don't see the new or posts floating about regarding the potential dangers of exploding vrms or prematurely dying cards due to the heat. These people would go about normal overclocking and stress testing without knowing the potentially disastrous consequences.
2. Don't have the confidence or know how to install the new thermals pads. Essentially leaving them with an enthusiast card that's partially gimped. I know I didn't pay top dollar for an enthusiast card only to either limit any overclocking or be forced to up the fan speed and noise. Not something I want to do nor something I paid for.
3. What happens to people who disassemble the card and cause physical damage in the process? I don't think it's fair on the consumer to void warranty returns as the card has been physically damaged when they were trying to install the thermal pads. I can really only see 2 options here for EVGA, either take a hard stance as they do know in regards to physical damage voiding warranty or open themselves up and accept returns on physically damaged 1070's and 1080's that were effected.
Point 1 is probably the worst part. It's quite a worrying feeling that people could be leaving stress tests on loop and walking away from a potential fire hazard. I know I'm feeling uneasy leaving my PC on overnight or unattended now for long periods of time. What's it going to take before EVGA decide it's too dangerous and recalls the effected cards?
Also another thing that concerns me is we have already started seeing and hearing about these cards dying prematurely and it's only been a few months since release. What about long term effects of users putting their cards through potentially >90c temps for the past few months. How will this effect the lifespan on the components and cards themselves? We all know heat prematurely kills components and running them close to max or above rated temps definitely is asking for trouble. Here in Australia we can easily see ambient temperatures at and above 40c for days/weeks on end, double the 22c ambient temperature of the TomsHardware results. Cards without the thermal pad modification are simply going to cook and potentially turn into ticking time bombs.
I think the right thing for EVGA to do right now is to give people the option of RMA'ing their cards and replacing them with new ones or letting them go ahead and install the thermal pads. Forcing people into disassembling a $650AUD GPU is not a way to win customers over nor does it feel the right thing to do. And for people saying "it's optional", I'm certain new cards rolling off the factory floor have the thermals pads already in place. That suggests to me that EVGA don't consider it an option at all but something that's become a necessity.
I might be looking into it a little too much (and for everyone's safety I sure hope I am), but for EVGA to acknowledge there is a potential flaw and issue with the card is enough to cause concerns with me. Especially when it regards people's safety.