NucleusX

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Guys this really is a non issue as the cards run within spec, there have only been a handful of cards with major issues because of this. IMO EVGA have really stepped up to the plate offering free Advanced RMA for all cards at no cost to the customer or free thermal pads (if you want to install yourself). Like I said 99% of the cards will have no issues anyways and they have already stated this will have 0 affect on warranty so even if you mess up installing the pads, or the cards does have issues they got your back. For me because of the way they handled this I will have 0 issues buying EVGA cards in the future (this is my first one)

Completely disagree. This is a real issue that real people have to deal with, even if you don't. We buy these premium cards with
the expectation that they where built well right out of the gate. Take me for example, because i live in Australia, i have no option
to cross-ship or RMA for that fact. I am literally forced to install these myself with no way to get it RMA'd on the thermal pad
basis. I'm suffering down-time for my reading efforts, taking it apart, waiting for EVGA to send their fix. And i'll be down more
money because constantly seeing "Awaiting shipment" for weeks on end has caused me to try and source thermal pads elsewhere.
Non-issue my foot lol. If you think I'm going to run it risky as is on the edge of specs that can't be monitored, you would be wrong.
Spending $700 AU on a card that hasn't been used for a month because of thermal pads is a proper issue to a customer like me.
 
None of us should have to go through this process in the first place, and if you're happy about this, you must be super loyal to EVGA,

I think you need to do a little more reading as the card will run well within spec once the new BIOS is apply (which increases the fan curve) or you apply a custom fan curve. The thermal pads are actually completely optional and are not required. Also i'm sure if you reached out to EVGA for an Advanced RMA they would do something for you (I have seen them help out many that are outside EAR range). On another note I personally have never bought a EVGA card (this is my first), all products regardless of manufacturer can have problems, its how a company handles it that shows you the type of company they are. EVGA stands by there products and have handled this extreme well for all affected.

qbvbsite

NucleusX

qbvbsite
Guys this really is a non issue as the cards run within spec, there have only been a handful of cards with major issues because of this. IMO EVGA have really stepped up to the plate offering free Advanced RMA for all cards at no cost to the customer or free thermal pads (if you want to install yourself). Like I said 99% of the cards will have no issues anyways and they have already stated this will have 0 affect on warranty so even if you mess up installing the pads, or the cards does have issues they got your back. For me because of the way they handled this I will have 0 issues buying EVGA cards in the future (this is my first one)

Completely disagree. This is a real issue that real people have to deal with, even if you don't. We buy these premium cards with
the expectation that they where built well right out of the gate. Take me for example, because i live in Australia, i have no option
to cross-ship or RMA for that fact. I am literally forced to install these myself with no way to get it RMA'd on the thermal pad
basis. I'm suffering down-time for my reading efforts, taking it apart, waiting for EVGA to send their fix. And i'll be down more
money because constantly seeing "Awaiting shipment" for weeks on end has caused me to try and source thermal pads elsewhere.
Non-issue my foot lol. If you think I'm going to run it risky as is on the edge of specs that can't be monitored, you would be wrong.
Spending $700 AU on a card that hasn't been used for a month because of thermal pads is a proper issue to a customer like me.
 
None of us should have to go through this process in the first place, and if you're happy about this, you must be super loyal to EVGA,

I think you need to do a little more reading as the card will run well within spec once the new BIOS is apply (which increases the fan curve) or you apply a custom fan curve. The thermal pads are actually completely optional and are not required. Also i'm sure if you reached out to EVGA for an Advanced RMA they would do something for you (I have seen them help out many that are outside EAR range). On another note I personally have never bought a EVGA card (this is my first), all products regardless of manufacturer can have problems, its how a company handles it that shows you the type of company they are. EVGA stands by there products and have handled this extreme well for all affected.

So you're basically forming your opinion on the customer basis of your "first" EVGA product lol. I'm willing to bet I've read
at-least 10 times the material you have going by that. I realize more than you know. I also realize that VRMs and VRAM
cannot be directly monitored, leaving you clueless as to how bad it really is. Many reports have verified that these cards
at stock run hotter than they should in these areas. You think they released a bios fix and free thermal pads for a non-issue ?
lol. As far as i was concerned, i did pretty well in the silicon lottery, and some here understand how difficult it can be to let go
of it if you're willing to do the work, which i am, but I'm not happy about it. That's besides the fact that if i was miraculously
able to do a cross-ship, which i can't the way things look. The only way to get this thing RMA'd would be if it had suffered
an issue EVGA considered to be worse than the thermal pad debacle, like a proper failure. The thing you need to understand
is, is that electronics take their time in failing, and that time is usually dependent on the temperatures all components
are subjected to through the course of their life. The higher the operating temperature, the greater the likely-hood that
component will fail in a shorter time, even if its just within spec. Its a fact of electronics, and one you should consider.
No offense, but this "non-issue" you speak of, isn't going to turn out so well for everybody with a large degree of variation
depending on the individuals circumstances. For some it might be ok, for others, things aren't so black and white. You almost
appear to be doing damage control by playing down what could turn out to be a serious issue for someone other than you.

EVGATech_ChrisB
Hi Everyone,
 
Please keep in mind that we do not recommend any gaps in thermal pads and we do not expect any of our customers to buy thermal pads.  We are supplying our Optional Thermal Mod for Free and if you do not want to install it or you have any concern with your product then we are here to help with warranty, all shipping paid.
 
I assure everyone that we are 100% Quality Checking all EVGA GTX 10 series ACX 3.0 cards models 1060/1070/1080 to ensure that they are fully updated with both the latest BIOS and the Optional Thermal Pad Mod to assist our customers.  Rest assured that if you do not prefer to install the Optional Thermal mod or the Recommended VBIOS yourself, or have any concerns with your product, then we are here to help with a replacement product that is updated.
 
Please do not hesitate to contact us if any questions or concerns that we can assist with.   
 
Thermal Pad Mod Request Website/Response:   
 
Recommended VBIOS Updates:  
 
 

You know what would be super awesome? If you actually shipped the thermal pads. It's been 2 weeks now since I registered to have them shipped to me and I'm still at "awaiting shipment".
 
Frankly, I was willing to cut EVGA some slack for this series of cooling issues because the company seems to be acting in good faith, but I bought a premium graphics card to PLAY games, not to cut back on my gaming sessions because I could fry the VRAM. I checked by the way: only 2 of the VRAM pads were touching.
 
I always bought EVGA since the 8800gt because of the quality and also the great customer service. I had a card go bad once and you guys had me set up for a cross-ship  RMA within 30 minutes. Still, if I have to order my own pads next week to fix this issue myself, you can be sure my future 1180GTX and the next ones will be another brand's.

Just a word of caution guys, and I've stressed this a few times. Don't assume that the GPU die temp alone can be used as an indicator of thermal health for all components on
the graphics card, it only tells part of the story. The only sure way to keep things running safely for some until the thermal pads arrive, is to cease any gaming at high loads, or
completely, and don't run benchmarks. Especially FurMark, lol. Keeping the graphics load low on the card, directly translates to lower power delivery demands, and a reduction
in GPU, VRM, and VRAM operating temperatures. If you have to play it safe for the moment, that's how i would recommend it. If you don't care, then ignorance is bliss.   

If you are that worried about the temps I would buy the thermal pads elsewhere and install them myself. I would of never have waited that long. $15 on thermal pads is well worth to get my $700+ video card running %100 again.

NucleusX

qbvbsite

NucleusX

qbvbsite
Guys this really is a non issue as the cards run within spec, there have only been a handful of cards with major issues because of this. IMO EVGA have really stepped up to the plate offering free Advanced RMA for all cards at no cost to the customer or free thermal pads (if you want to install yourself). Like I said 99% of the cards will have no issues anyways and they have already stated this will have 0 affect on warranty so even if you mess up installing the pads, or the cards does have issues they got your back. For me because of the way they handled this I will have 0 issues buying EVGA cards in the future (this is my first one)

Completely disagree. This is a real issue that real people have to deal with, even if you don't. We buy these premium cards with
the expectation that they where built well right out of the gate. Take me for example, because i live in Australia, i have no option
to cross-ship or RMA for that fact. I am literally forced to install these myself with no way to get it RMA'd on the thermal pad
basis. I'm suffering down-time for my reading efforts, taking it apart, waiting for EVGA to send their fix. And i'll be down more
money because constantly seeing "Awaiting shipment" for weeks on end has caused me to try and source thermal pads elsewhere.
Non-issue my foot lol. If you think I'm going to run it risky as is on the edge of specs that can't be monitored, you would be wrong.
Spending $700 AU on a card that hasn't been used for a month because of thermal pads is a proper issue to a customer like me.
 
None of us should have to go through this process in the first place, and if you're happy about this, you must be super loyal to EVGA,

I think you need to do a little more reading as the card will run well within spec once the new BIOS is apply (which increases the fan curve) or you apply a custom fan curve. The thermal pads are actually completely optional and are not required. Also i'm sure if you reached out to EVGA for an Advanced RMA they would do something for you (I have seen them help out many that are outside EAR range). On another note I personally have never bought a EVGA card (this is my first), all products regardless of manufacturer can have problems, its how a company handles it that shows you the type of company they are. EVGA stands by there products and have handled this extreme well for all affected.

So you're basically forming your opinion on the customer basis of your "first" EVGA product lol. I'm willing to bet I've read
at-least 10 times the material you have going by that. I realize more than you know. I also realize that VRMs and VRAM
cannot be directly monitored, leaving you clueless as to how bad it really is. Many reports have verified that these cards
at stock run hotter than they should in these areas. You think they released a bios fix and free thermal pads for a non-issue ?
lol. As far as i was concerned, i did pretty well in the silicon lottery, and some here understand how difficult it can be to let go
of it if you're willing to do the work, which i am, but I'm not happy about it. That's besides the fact that if i was miraculously
able to do a cross-ship, which i can't the way things look. The only way to get this thing RMA'd would be if it had suffered
an issue EVGA considered to be worse than the thermal pad debacle, like a proper failure. The thing you need to understand
is, is that electronics take their time in failing, and that time is usually dependent on the temperatures all components
are subjected to through the course of their life. The higher the operating temperature, the greater the likely-hood that
component will fail in a shorter time, even if its just within spec. Its a fact of electronics, and one you should consider.
No offense, but this "non-issue" you speak of, isn't going to turn out so well for everybody with a large degree of variation
depending on the individuals circumstances. For some it might be ok, for others, things aren't so black and white. You almost
appear to be doing damage control by playing down what could turn out to be a serious issue for someone other than you.

NucleusX
For once i'd like to see a statement from EVGA admitting this as a complete engineering failure. All I see are carefully crafted responses that
shunt off as much responsibility as possible. Yeh they're sending out free pads, but they are taking forever to receive, maybe they wanna drag 
this out as long as possible and wait for a few more cards to die before we get them, w/e the case, this is totally unprofessional. 

Right. You're saying a company should admit legal liability for what you claim is 'IN FACT' a defective product. For very obvious reasons, that will never happen. You appear smart enough to know that, so it is curious why you'd make that argument AND imply a level of nefarious intent by EVGA.

HeavyHemi

NucleusX
For once i'd like to see a statement from EVGA admitting this as a complete engineering failure. All I see are carefully crafted responses that
shunt off as much responsibility as possible. Yeh they're sending out free pads, but they are taking forever to receive, maybe they wanna drag 
this out as long as possible and wait for a few more cards to die before we get them, w/e the case, this is totally unprofessional. 

Right. You're saying a company should admit legal liability for what you claim is 'IN FACT' a defective product. For very obvious reasons, that will never happen. You appear smart enough to know that, so it is curious why you'd make that argument AND imply a level of nefarious intent by EVGA.

I never said they "should", I'd just like to see more official statements from them that didn't appear more than generic corporate responses.
But i will say they rolled the dice on this one, and closer attention should've been paid. Your extrapolations of my words are a little off. 
I doubt we would ever see that happen lol, so it's in no way an expectation. The critical factor i find here is "how long". The longer you run
these cards at their limits, the more life you strip from them, thus making thermal corrections in a timely manner essential to their longevity.

NucleusX

HeavyHemi

NucleusX
For once i'd like to see a statement from EVGA admitting this as a complete engineering failure. All I see are carefully crafted responses that
shunt off as much responsibility as possible. Yeh they're sending out free pads, but they are taking forever to receive, maybe they wanna drag 
this out as long as possible and wait for a few more cards to die before we get them, w/e the case, this is totally unprofessional. 

Right. You're saying a company should admit legal liability for what you claim is 'IN FACT' a defective product. For very obvious reasons, that will never happen. You appear smart enough to know that, so it is curious why you'd make that argument AND imply a level of nefarious intent by EVGA.

I never said they "should", I'd just like to see more official statements from them that didn't appear more than generic corporate responses.
But i will say they rolled the dice on this one, and closer attention should've been paid. Your extrapolations of my words are a little off. 
I doubt we would ever see that happen lol, so it's in no way an expectation. The critical factor i find here is "how long". The longer you run
these cards at their limits, the more life you strip from them, thus making thermal corrections in a timely manner essential to their longevity.

If the argument is, they could have done a better job (subjective) I wouldn't argue. However, operating under normal conditions, meaning not bypassing a driver flag and running Furmark, they operate within design limits.  Frankly, I think their cheapest and most easily implemented 'fix' beyond what they are doing already is, as a few other have mentioned, extend the warranty period. It wasn't that long ago that EVGA had lifetime warranties. I still get replacement parts for free for my E758 boards. That would pretty much indicate they both stand by their product, and ease the fears of those worried about higher temperatures decreasing the life span. Though on the other hand, some of us old timers used to run  GTX 8800 at nearly 100C forever and they still work.

NucleusX
Just a word of caution guys, and I've stressed this a few times. Don't assume that the GPU die temp alone can be used as an indicator of thermal health for all components on
the graphics card, it only tells part of the story. The only sure way to keep things running safely for some until the thermal pads arrive, is to cease any gaming at high loads, or
completely, and don't run benchmarks. Especially FurMark, lol. Keeping the graphics load low on the card, directly translates to lower power delivery demands, and a reduction
in GPU, VRM, and VRAM operating temperatures. If you have to play it safe for the moment, that's how i would recommend it. If you don't care, then ignorance is bliss.   

I usually don't stress out over this kind of stuff as I know EVGA will handle it but I will agree with you and your warning. After more careful examination of my 1080 FTW cards, I see some gaps between the vram and thermal pads on one of my cards in addition to the vrm issues. I ordered the thermal pads as a precaution prior to the vram issue and gamed as usual!
 
That is, until my son's friend's GTX 1070 exploded, caught fire and burned his PC up. I am just a wee bit concerned about it now. Hope they get these pads out ASAP.

HeavyHemi

NucleusX

HeavyHemi

NucleusX
For once i'd like to see a statement from EVGA admitting this as a complete engineering failure. All I see are carefully crafted responses that
shunt off as much responsibility as possible. Yeh they're sending out free pads, but they are taking forever to receive, maybe they wanna drag 
this out as long as possible and wait for a few more cards to die before we get them, w/e the case, this is totally unprofessional. 

Right. You're saying a company should admit legal liability for what you claim is 'IN FACT' a defective product. For very obvious reasons, that will never happen. You appear smart enough to know that, so it is curious why you'd make that argument AND imply a level of nefarious intent by EVGA.

I never said they "should", I'd just like to see more official statements from them that didn't appear more than generic corporate responses.
But i will say they rolled the dice on this one, and closer attention should've been paid. Your extrapolations of my words are a little off. 
I doubt we would ever see that happen lol, so it's in no way an expectation. The critical factor i find here is "how long". The longer you run
these cards at their limits, the more life you strip from them, thus making thermal corrections in a timely manner essential to their longevity.

If the argument is, they could have done a better job (subjective) I wouldn't argue. However, operating under normal conditions, meaning not bypassing a driver flag and running Furmark, they operate within design limits.  Frankly, I think their cheapest and most easily implemented 'fix' beyond what they are doing already is, as a few other have mentioned, extend the warranty period. It wasn't that long ago that EVGA had lifetime warranties. I still get replacement parts for free for my E758 boards. That would pretty much indicate they both stand by their product, and ease the fears of those worried about higher temperatures decreasing the life span. Though on the other hand, some of us old timers used to run  GTX 8800 at nearly 100C forever and they still work.

Then the argument could be, is it really worth it for EVGA to honor say a 5 - 10 year warranty ? Enough of these cards mightn't live that long due to heat stresses
over its lifetime, depending who has the fix's applied. Not everyone who buys a graphics card bothers to register let alone view forums. Some of them could die next
month, some in 2.9 years, and others in 3.1 years lol. I'm sure a corporation like EVGA would stratergize losses at long-term intervals like that, and might not see
extended warranties beneficial to their profits in the long-run. But i agree, if EVGA really stood by their claims, an extended warranty would be an act of confidence.