Got my replacement cards on Wednesday, temps are much better overall, originally maxed about 73-75 degrees, now 63-65 degrees (both cards set to 80% fan speed in 3D mode) and (yes I know the thermal pads are for the VRM's but it looks like the heat was transferring to the GPU because of how hot it was, also back of card seems a bit cooler also, both sets of cards had the latest BIOS update) but the overclock is not very good, with my previous cards I was getting 2100+, now I'm getting at best 2025Mhz, and even at that I still see a random artifact once and awhile, I also tried swapping the cards, made it worse, couldn't get anything over 2000Mhz without it crashing....is this acceptable? What do you guys think?

Today I've started getting "nvlddmkm.sys" BSoDs.
I've tried completely uninstalling all GPU drivers and reinstalling but I've gotten another BSoD shortly after trying that.
 
Could this be related to any of these issues in any way? I assume it's not but at this point I just don't know anymore.

I have the 1080 ftw. I am a bit confused here. I have the thermal pads being sent to me, but i did not install the bios. On the link there are two of them, primary and secondary. Do i download both of them or secondary? Also do i really need to get the bios update, i set the fan curve to go to 50% when my card goes above 45c. My temps never hit 60c. SO what do i download primary then secondary, or just the secondary one? Also is this safe, can anything go wrong. I heard of bricking a card can i do that when installing the new bios. Is there a switch on the GPU the 1080 ftw acx 3.0 that can restore the bios?

tw1l1ght
I have the 1080 ftw. I am a bit confused here. I have the thermal pads being sent to me, but i did not install the bios. On the link there are two of them, primary and secondary. Do i download both of them or secondary? Also do i really need to get the bios update, i set the fan curve to go to 50% when my card goes above 45c. My temps never hit 60c. SO what do i download primary then secondary, or just the secondary one? Also is this safe, can anything go wrong. I heard of bricking a card can i do that when installing the new bios. Is there a switch on the GPU the 1080 ftw acx 3.0 that can restore the bios?

If you don't use the secondary bios you can only download the primary and flash that. No, if you're already using a custom fan curve then you are already doing what the new bios does. The new bios only changes the fan curve to be slightly more aggressive.
 
I'ts actually pretty safe, yes you have the chance of bricking your card but you also have a dual bios. So if something goes wrong whilst you're flashing the primary bios you can always flip it over to the secondary and fix it. It literally takes about 10 seconds from start to finish (not even) and unless you downloaded the incorrect bios you'll be fine. It takes longer and is more complicated to flash a motherboard bios, that's how easy it is to do it via EVGA's method.

Awsome thank you for your help. Can you also please explain what exactly i have to do to fix the card if i brick it?

Scorpion-X
Got my replacement cards on Wednesday, temps are much better overall, originally maxed about 73-75 degrees, now 63-65 degrees (both cards set to 80% fan speed in 3D mode) and (yes I know the thermal pads are for the VRM's but it looks like the heat was transferring to the GPU because of how hot it was, also back of card seems a bit cooler also, both sets of cards had the latest BIOS update) but the overclock is not very good, with my previous cards I was getting 2100+, now I'm getting at best 2025Mhz, and even at that I still see a random artifact once and awhile, I also tried swapping the cards, made it worse, couldn't get anything over 2000Mhz without it crashing....is this acceptable? What do you guys think?

 
Probably, a lot of people with lower-overclocking cards see the EVGA thermal pad installation as a chance to ditch their slower cards and maybe get a faster ones, in return. While people with higher-overclocking cards are not sending theirs in as mcuh, because they don't want to lose their good overclocks, and so they're installing thermal pads, themselves. The result of this probable situation would be that there's a disproportionate amount of lower-overclocking cards being sent to EVGA, and sent back to people after EVGA installs thermal pads on them.
 
Also, if the cards being sent to EVGA already have heat damage, they might perform less than they first did. EVGA will still install thermal pads, check to see that the cards perform at their advertised speed, and then send them out again.
 

tw1l1ght
Awsome thank you for your help. Can you also please explain what exactly i have to do to fix the card if i brick it?

If you brick it, then you have to RMA it to EVGA, to get a replacement.

Evga are leaving a lot to chance here by letting the customers do all the fixes to the cards, I sure wouldn`t want a rma in a few months time when all the returned cards are being sent back out as refurbs

Triss

ilyama

Triss
Any customer who is not comfortable performing the recommended VBIOS update, may request a warranty cross-shipment* to exchange the product to EVGA for an updated replacement.
 
Since being from New Zealand i'm not in the listed countries for advanced RMA  i presume i have to first send in my gpu and wait for a new one to be sent back to me?
I will say if that is the case this will be my last evga product sadly.

 
Just change the fan curve... 

Changing the fan curve will not also add thermal pads....
I'm already going to end up with a louder product then was reviewed and promoted i accept that but i wont be doing all these changes myself.  
This is why EVGA has offered the exchange policy.
 

There is really nothing to worrie about. If your card is working fine, (and most cards do) playing games, surf, do work, you don't have to apply pads or update VBios.
 

wils07
Evga are leaving a lot to chance here by letting the customers do all the fixes to the cards, I sure wouldn`t want a rma in a few months time when all the returned cards are being sent back out as refurbs

You don't even have EVGA card.

DrPhD
Today I've started getting "nvlddmkm.sys" BSoDs.
I've tried completely uninstalling all GPU drivers and reinstalling but I've gotten another BSoD shortly after trying that.
 
Could this be related to any of these issues in any way? I assume it's not but at this point I just don't know anymore.

Do you overclock?