Is there any official info about what customers with backplate-less ACX 3.0 cards should do? I've got a 1070 SC Black Edition.
I'd sent a message to customer service earlier when this issue first became known but the reply just indicated that I was eligible for thermal pads but there were no plans to sell backplates at this time. 
Since the thermal pad's function is to transfer heat from the chips to the heatsink (in this case the front/backplates) I'm assuming installing the back-side thermal pads wouldn't be applicable without a backplate. 
Should installing the front-side thermal pads and updating the firmware be sufficient or will i still be at risk for possible VRM issues in worst case heavy-use situations?
I personally wish EVGA would run off a few extra backplates and offer them for sale... but then again I'm just kinda kicking myself for choosing the black edition for color scheme purposes and opting out of a backplate 
  

how long does it normally take to update the bios?? it's been 10min and im still getting black screen. 

Silencio
how long does it normally take to update the bios?? it's been 10min and im still getting black screen. 

It's pretty much instant...something went wrong or maybe your monitor didn't detect the signal after the update.

Does anybody here have the special update for AMD users? I keep emailing support and I still haven't got a reply back. If you can help it'll be much appreciated.

Has anyone actually measured the temperature of VRM on 1070 ftw? it's not supposed to be as hot as 1080, or am i wrong?
All i've seen so far is a measurements of 1080 from gamernexus.
Just asking this before i jump into actions.. i am totally comfortable with modding my hardware, except i am going to have to use my own thermal pads. Where i live (Russia) - i dont think RMA is an easy option (i heard it is possible, but involves paying for shipping to Europe), so as getting pads from EVGA, but a store i bought my card offers 36 months warranty which i am definitely gonna lose once i crack my card open.

splurge909
Does anybody here have the special update for AMD users? I keep emailing support and I still haven't got a reply back. If you can help it'll be much appreciated.

Hi splurge, EVGA is working to get the error caused by AMD bosrds fixed. Do you have any friends with an Intel board by any chance? If you do, and they have 15 minutes, you could utilize their board to flash your gpu.

thebluedino
Is there any official info about what customers with backplate-less ACX 3.0 cards should do? I've got a 1070 SC Black Edition.

 
<Not an official, but I think the back plate (without thermal pads) is one of two issues causing the heat. 
 
1) I think EVGA went after the "quietest card" title too hard. I have not heard anyone question the ACX's ability to cool the GPU, but the original settings allowed the GPU to get into the 80's with it's crazy low (and quiet) RPM's. With the new BIOS, my card never broke 70C when running the Furmark torture test.....and it's still one of the quietest fan-cards I have heard. (although not as quiet as the original BIOS.)
 
2) The cards with back plates and no pads have what amounts to an engineered oven-cooker trapping heat on the back of the card.
 
All the ACX cards have (or had) the first problem. The second, and I think more serious problem, is limited to cards with back plates. 
 

My question is about the thermal pads? I ordered them as soon as the link was available,  and I think I have some decent thermal paste to clean the card and replace the paste with...
The thermal pads still have not shipped out though, what is the rough ETA on those?  I know I won't get a real anwer, but I am asking what order of magnitude of time do I need to wait? few more days? few more weeks? few more months?...
Are Advanced RMA's (don't mind putting up a hold for one) a better option to get the issue fixed?
All new cards after 11/01/2016 are shipping with the new bios update for the fan curve (even though for my card it is still listed as "Comming Soon ®" still, so theoretically the bios doesn't exist yet even though they say they are shipping cards the include it), but does that also mean that all cards shipped out after 11/01/2016 include the thermal pads as well automatically and from now on?  Does that make an RMA the fastest option? or does this mean than waiting a month for the pads to ship and then installing them myself the better option? (an option for computer nerds like me, but not for everyone that purchased this card...)
 
I have always run with a custom fan "curve" (read line) from 0% @ 1 degree above ambient room straight to 100% at 80°C, and so I am not all that worried about bios update.
And I am not actually all that worked up about all this, except that it is preventing me from even trying to do the stuff I bought this card for, and the light of the recent Samsung issues, makes me mildly worried that not immediately shipping the card back will result in my house burning down :-P
 
If you don't want that sort of negative company association, be liberal with the complete answers, and remove the issue completely as soon as possible so your company can put this behind you...

z1nonly

thebluedino
Is there any official info about what customers with backplate-less ACX 3.0 cards should do? I've got a 1070 SC Black Edition.

 
<Not an official, but I think the back plate (without thermal pads) is one of two issues causing the heat. 
 
 

That's kinda what I was hoping. My card sits in the path of 2 Noctua Industrial 140mm fans so the back of the PCB gets a lot of air circulation. Plus I work too much and only get to game like an hour a day if I'm lucky so I doubt I'll be cooking anything

warrentheo
My question is about the thermal pads? I ordered them as soon as the link was available,  and I think I have some decent thermal paste to clean the card and replace the paste with...
The thermal pads still have not shipped out though, what is the rough ETA on those?  I know I won't get a real anwer, but I am asking what order of magnitude of time do I need to wait? few more days? few more weeks? few more months?...
Are Advanced RMA's (don't mind putting up a hold for one) a better option to get the issue fixed?
All new cards after 11/01/2016 are shipping with the new bios update for the fan curve (even though for my card it is still listed as "Comming Soon ®" still, so theoretically the bios doesn't exist yet even though they say they are shipping cards the include it), but does that also mean that all cards shipped out after 11/01/2016 include the thermal pads as well automatically and from now on?  Does that make an RMA the fastest option? or does this mean than waiting a month for the pads to ship and then installing them myself the better option? (an option for computer nerds like me, but not for everyone that purchased this card...)
 
I have always run with a custom fan "curve" (read line) from 0% @ 1 degree above ambient room straight to 100% at 80°C, and so I am not all that worried about bios update.
And I am not actually all that worked up about all this, except that it is preventing me from even trying to do the stuff I bought this card for, and the light of the recent Samsung issues, makes me mildly worried that not immediately shipping the card back will result in my house burning down :-P
 
If you don't want that sort of negative company association, be liberal with the complete answers, and remove the issue completely as soon as possible so your company can put this behind you...

EVGA has directly acknowledged that they are shipping the pads out as soon as they receive them. I think the first shipment went out around Monday or Tuesday of this week, and they were now waiting on more thermal pads to arrive so they can ship them out. I can not give any sort of actual timeline, but it will take time for them to get enough pads cut to the correct sizes and then shipped out.