First time EVGA buyer, got my 1070 SC in October, a few days before the VRMgate started being a thing. I ordered the pads the same day they offered them but i grew impatient to receive them (still haven't by the way, one month later) so i started contemplating faster ways to get back to using the 450 euros toy i had bought but would not use since it was cooking itself to death (i made the mistake to put a finger on the backplate right behind the VRMs, oh boy). Anyway, i quickly started to realize since i had to take my 450 euros piece of electronics equipment apart i might as well go the full way and install proper cooling on it, hesitated a bit between a Kraken G10 and NZXT AIO and the EVGA Hybrid Kit, the issue with the Kraken is you need heatsinks for the VRM, so i went and ordered the Hybrid Kit for 130 euros since i figured my suiciding VRMs would be better and more easily cooled, installed it without problems, put some Grizzly paste instead of the pre applied stuff, and also did half of the thermal mod by putting a large rectangular  1.5mm Arctic pad between the backplate and the back of the card. Pretty decent i thought.
The good thing, and there is one, is that my temperatures dropped 40 degrees, f.o.u.r.t.y degrees, from under 80C to under 40C at full load, the backplate is barely warm now. Now for the bad thing, and how could there be any downside to such a massive temp drop? Well the fan that cools the VRM and VRAM now replaces the ACX fan, it means it won't be triggered until temps reach a level far above what i now have, meaning VRMs and VRAM are passively cooled, i looked at the manual and nowhere does it say to flash another bios or set a custom curve, by default the heatsink fan just sits there, questioning the futility of its existence, not cool. Why EVGA, why are you so hell-bent on overheating my card? Afterburner takes care of it but i'd much rather have the BIOS as a fallback.
So after many hours and quite a bit of money sunk into this i can finally, maybe, start to enjoy my card a bit and would recommend, if you have the cash and can find one in stock, to get the hybrid kit.
 

This is the worst "solution" posted yet.  You basically gave EVGA another $150+ to fix something that could be fixed with about $10 of parts

Bar81
This is the worst "solution" posted yet.  You basically gave EVGA another $150+ to fix something that could be fixed with about $10 of parts

Does your $10 of parts give you a 38C temp at full load and a completely silent card?
To be honest, had i received the pads in a timely manner i might have installed them and be done with it, but i am glad i did not, i was so impressed i got a Corsair H55 for my CPU. I will never go back to aircooling.

If you think that's completely silent, then you have hearing damage.

Bar81
If you think that's completely silent, then you have hearing damage.

Well maybe i do but with the fan at 40% nothing stands out from the general hum of my 3x120mm case fans, how does that compare to the ACX after the bios update?
Anyway if you are happy with the ghetto mod that is good for you but some people might want to use this unfortunate situation to get a much better solution.
 

Why would I do the BIOS update?  It's not needed. 

So, you got a water-cooling revelation, but it still isn’t a feasible solution for most people. EVGA should have shipped you the pads in a timely manner - as they damn well should for any of us affected with this situation, but you caved in and sort of “rewarded” them for their failure. Nothing wrong with going with water-cooling, but you did all the work and spending to fix a problem EVGA by law is obligated to fix.  

I try to keep a positive onlook on things, in the end i got a much more cool and silent rig out of this situation. I could have stood my ground and would now still be waiting for the pads, not using my card. As to rewarding them, well i can tell you i will never buy another EVGA product again.

stehem
I try to keep a positive onlook on things, in the end i got a much more cool and silent rig out of this situation. I could have stood my ground and would now still be waiting for the pads, not using my card. As to rewarding them, well i can tell you i will never buy another EVGA product again.

I'm with ya! Not buying any more EVGA products from now on, when I get my pads (hopefully in this lifetime) and get it all working, you'll never see me on these forums again, and EVGA will never see my money again either.