I apologize for the overly dramatic title of this thread.  Yet somehow it seems a bit apropos.  I thought that I was prepared to do the mod install but upon getting into it it turned out to be a little more involved than I had suspected.  But never mind that.
 
What really prompted my desire to start this thread was to complete the saga of the "waiting" (https://youtu.be/dj3z8LX1T9k) and the "arrival" (https://youtu.be/gGcDVJ6ChdY) with the "installation"! 
And...I didn't expect the video to be so...long.  54 minutes.  Whew.  But, I just didn't want to skip anything in the interests of those who might have real trepidation about trying something like this for themselves. I covered all the bases:  Yes the unopened box was on a shelf behind where I usually sit.  And in a way, I wanted to demystify the process of not only doing the install but something of what it takes to create a video like this in the first place!  And...I tried to inject a touch of humour and reality into it as well.  I don't know if I succeeded, or merely ended up demonstrating how to be somewhat pathetic during the whole experience, lol.  I guess that's ultimately for you to judge should you choose to watch it -- and yes, while I'm being a bit self deprecating, there is a touch of something pathetic about it; a small soupçon of schadenfreude we all endure from time to time.  Hopefully, we can rise to the occasion if it isn't too serious, perhaps find some humour to lighten the load.
 
Without further ado:

 
Thanks all. 

luqa1337
I watched a other video, and there they didnt do the 3 smaller strips around the GPU chip. Should i still apply them?

I would, yes.  The earlier kit didn't have the VRAM pads included -- it's still officially an optional addition but if you have the chance and the time, why not?

luqa1337
Yeah, ive aplied them a well. First time the base plate didn't come off, so thats why i didnt bother and the video didnt show it. But this time a litle jerk was enough to get it off. Thanks for the video by the way.

Glad it worked out for you.  And thanks too. 

Pr00f
So what I understand from this video is that the thermal pads you got for the VRAM are too thin? Because I got the same thickness aswell as the ones that are already on there... What is the point in replacing them then? (Sorry I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to pc building and before I go on this endeavour I need to know :D . From watching your video alone I get the chills, hope I won't screw up anything :/

Yeah, they sent me 1mm VRAM pads which didn't make much sense really.  I don't know if it was just me or what, but I would think that if the ones in place aren't making contact then they aren't thick enough.  That actually surprised me!  Well, after thinking about it I figure one thing to do is that if the old ones didn't make contact then just leave them in place and add the new ones directly to the chips as instructed then when the plate is replaced you end up making a two layer (1mm + 1mm) pad that should make good contact and be sufficient. The ones they have in place and pads in the kit are pretty compressible (more so than that Thermal Grizzly 8-pad stuff) so I'm sure it'll be good.
 
My 2mm pads look to making good contact -- I am actually typing this on my new computer that I built (FINALLY!!! - I'll be posting a build video to my channel in a week or so) and everything is running copacetic (except some odd baloney during sleep mode I need to track down and cure).
 
So, yeah, while I can understand the trepidation, I think I made it look harder than it was/is just because I was scared myself and nervous because of the filming.  In the end it all went pretty well and I don't think this mod is the last word in 'daunting' by any means. 
 
So, in the end, this is a decent experience to build up a little skill because the risk to you is low -- you're still covered by EVGA so that should take a load off right there!
 
Best of luck, I hope you give it a go and didn't let my video 'chill the spine' too much.

It took me 2 hours :D But so far it seems like I did it right. I took all the steps on the 3 manual papers. And I took your advice to apply the VRAM pads on top of the other 1 mm ones. It looks like they are connected now. It was a real hassle though to apply the thermal paste and make it touch the heatsink. 
 
I played a bit of Battlefield 1 just yet and it looks like it runs on 66-70 degrees celcius now instead of 76 like it did before. Hopefully it will stay like that. 

Also I found something weird. You said you had a geforce 1070ftw aswell right? In your video I saw you had 4 of those transistors on that place while my card has 2. Weird isn't it?
 


Anyway your video was helpfull thanks for that!
 
 

Pr00f
It took me 2 hours :D But so far it seems like I did it right. I took all the steps on the 3 manual papers. And I took your advice to apply the VRAM pads on top of the other 1 mm ones. It looks like they are connected now. It was a real hassle though to apply the thermal paste and make it touch the heatsink. 
 
I played a bit of Battlefield 1 just yet and it looks like it runs on 66-70 degrees celcius now instead of 76 like it did before. Hopefully it will stay like that. 

Also I found something weird. You said you had a geforce 1070ftw aswell right? In your video I saw you had 4 of those transistors on that place while my card has 2. Weird isn't it?
 


Anyway your video was helpfull thanks for that!

First, I'm glad the video helped, so you're welcome and nolo problemo!
Second, I have the 1080, if I said 1070 somewhere in the video, I misspoke and apologize; nerves again probably.
And third, I hope like heck the paste is making contact with my heatsink, lol, 'cause I don't want to tear it down again for a very long time if ever!  But I found it tough to line up the spring screws for the heatsink but when I finally did and they went in I'm sure everything fit together snugly.  So fingers crossed.
At any rate, I'm still shaking down this new rig before buttoning it up and calling it done.  So far so good and only minor problems so far.

:-) Yup brought down my temps by 6 degrees celcius! Played the whole evening.  Indeed the screws were not that tight when I unscrewed them. I hope your temps will be fine once you test your card. Good luck!

Gawg36
 
Using two thermal pads to thicken causes the performance of the pads to drop much more than using a single pad.

+1K
 
Stacking pads is definitely less thermally efficient than a single pad

Nice Video 
 
i fitted the thermal pads and found a slight difference but it was better(imho), then i thought sod it just buy a block and back plate from EK, now i'm running sweet and more than happy 

Pr00f

Cool GTX

Gawg36
 Using two thermal pads to thicken causes the performance of the pads to drop much more than using a single pad.

+1K
 Stacking pads is definitely less thermally efficient than a single pad

Well that sucks... Why didn't they ship 2 mm pads then :/ . This whole thing isn't exactly a good first experience with EVGA.
 
Im not a computer wizard and I was happy I complete this whole proces thanks to this video and if it wasn't for Coriolisaffect I would have applied the 1 mm pads and be sitting here with the SAME PROBLEM!!... I worked with the things I had, I applied the pads from the kit and (apparenty from what I read) the worst brand of thermal paste on it that came with the package. I don't have my own pads and thermal paste and all that stuff lying around in my house.

I should've just send the whole thing back, but I didn't want to be without a video card for so long I need to do my work and stuff (and I dont have the momey around for a cross-shipment.. I hope I can sell my card for a decent price when I want to upgrade... That it's not just a worthless piece of trash by that time.

Whoa!  Take pride in the fact you completed this mod.  You're a technician now!  So now that you're part of the clan you have to understand a little bit of the nature of that manifestation:   We always want to operate in a perfect world.
So, with that in mind, you're being brought up to speed with the reality of the situation:  That generally, there's a good likelihood of a better solution no matter what it is that you try and do!  Lol!  It was MY failing not to have had the presence of mind to remember that indeed two stacked pads would be less thermally efficient -- but that's not to say that they won't do the job!  As a matter of fact, a few posters have contributed threads in this forum where that is precisely what they've resorted to doing and they have reported good results.
Also keep in mind that EVGA considers the mod in its entirety to be optional.  That the card will operate within spec without that mod and that the failures during the course of this have been within the expected percentage of, I can't remember now, but it was pretty low.  It's just that because of the internet and some dramatic pictures this all blew up out of proportion.  
 
So, I firmly believe your card is going to be fine.  It's going to serve you well for as long a you own it...and if the less than perfect solution continues to bother you you, because of your current experience, will have greater confidence in redoing this mod at some point should you choose to!
I wish we lived in a perfect world, that I was twenty years old again, that we had peace on earth...but we don't.  All we can do is the best we can with what we have to work with and in the end we have to hope that that is going to be good enough.
Please temper your disappointment -- hold onto the pride of a job well done; you've earned that and just because it turns out because of circumstances, human error, it wasn't perfect, well, that doesn't change the fact that the pads are making contact, right? 
 
 
 
 
 

CoriolisAffectment

Pr00f

Cool GTX

Gawg36
 Using two thermal pads to thicken causes the performance of the pads to drop much more than using a single pad.

+1K
 Stacking pads is definitely less thermally efficient than a single pad

Well that sucks... Why didn't they ship 2 mm pads then :/ . This whole thing isn't exactly a good first experience with EVGA.
 
Im not a computer wizard and I was happy I complete this whole proces thanks to this video and if it wasn't for Coriolisaffect I would have applied the 1 mm pads and be sitting here with the SAME PROBLEM!!... I worked with the things I had, I applied the pads from the kit and (apparenty from what I read) the worst brand of thermal paste on it that came with the package. I don't have my own pads and thermal paste and all that stuff lying around in my house.

I should've just send the whole thing back, but I didn't want to be without a video card for so long I need to do my work and stuff (and I dont have the momey around for a cross-shipment.. I hope I can sell my card for a decent price when I want to upgrade... That it's not just a worthless piece of trash by that time.

Whoa!  Take pride in the fact you completed this mod.  You're a technician now!  So now that you're part of the clan you have to understand a little bit of the nature of that manifestation:   We always want to operate in a perfect world.
So, with that in mind, you're being brought up to speed with the reality of the situation:  That generally, there's a good likelihood of a better solution no matter what it is that you try and do!  Lol!  It was MY failing not to have had the presence of mind to remember that indeed two stacked pads would be less thermally efficient -- but that's not to say that they won't do the job!  As a matter of fact, a few posters have contributed threads in this forum where that is precisely what they've resorted to doing and they have reported good results.
Also keep in mind that EVGA considers the mod in its entirety to be optional.  That the card will operate within spec without that mod and that the failures during the course of this have been within the expected percentage of, I can't remember now, but it was pretty low.  It's just that because of the internet and some dramatic pictures this all blew up out of proportion.  
 
So, I firmly believe your card is going to be fine.  It's going to serve you well for as long a you own it...and if the less than perfect solution continues to bother you you, because of your current experience, will have greater confidence in redoing this mod at some point should you choose to!
I wish we lived in a perfect world, that I was twenty years old again, that we had peace on earth...but we don't.  All we can do is the best we can with what we have to work with and in the end we have to hope that that is going to be good enough.
Please temper your disappointment -- hold onto the pride of a job well done; you've earned that and just because it turns out because of circumstances, human error, it wasn't perfect, well, that doesn't change the fact that the pads are making contact, right? 
 
 
 
 
 

Good post. True. While doubling up pads isn't ideal; it's making contact which it wasn't before. And yes, good job on doing the mod. You would be surprised how many people are terrified by that! To me (and no doubt others on this thread) it's great sfuff, and getting an RMA pass to open my card and do some thermal stuff was a real boon! Yeepee!!
 
Maybe too positive, but I really feel this whole issue was initially dramatized, and now pretty much solved. My 1080 FTW is a great stable card, I like it. OK it's not a great overclocker, but that's the old silicon lottery. Can't complain, does what it's meant' to and does it stable and well.
Thanks gents. Thanks for the video too.

Pr00f
I can see where you guys are coming from. But it just stings a bit paying so much money for something and going trough so much trouble. I guess you are right about "the card operates within limits". But then again if I knew this issue beforehand I obviously wouldn't have gone with this card. But whatever I am happy I did manage to solve it with some help and encouragement from this post.

Gotcha, and fully understand. IMHO your card will have no issues.
I'd say single or double layer, not important in THIS case. It was marginal anyways, and you've made it better. Enjoy the card man!!

Really cool dude, congratz. I'm thinking of getting a while case myself in the future aswell.