sparetimepc
So i get home yesterday to Illinois  from a road trip to Arizona delivering some priority medical supplies to a facility and decide to mow because the grass is pretty tall, then i wake up this morning and theres 7 inches of snow on the ground. So usually i'm done benchmarking this time of year but gosh since theres snow i figured what the heck. Installed my new 9980XE that had just got delivered and did a few tests.  Ended up moving into the #12 position http://www.3dmark.com/spy/11532857       in the HOF for time spy extreme graphics score with 2 cards and #3 Position in Port Royal HOF for 2 cards.    http://www.3dmark.com/pr/244804            Inside temp was 22C but was still able to get the coolant temp down to 0C and no condensation with the chiller because of only 20% humidity in the house right now. 
 

• any specific thermal pad recommendations? I'm not sure what pads, if any, will be included with the block I ordered, and I have a sheet each of 0.5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm, and 2mm cheap pads from Amazon (advertised as 6.0 W/mK, but I'm not sure how accurate/relevant that actually is). I know sparetimepc mentioned that Bykski specified 1.2mm pads (and provided a link to the specific pads recommended, thank you) so if nothing else, I'll be looking into buying some 1.2mm pads to have on hand. Someone had mentioned needing various sizes, and if so, anyone able to clarify/specify what they needed around the card?
• the xDevs writeup by TiN notes that keeping the cold plate installed may be a good idea, but I'm assuming that the Bykski block will not need/fit it, as the pictures I've seen seem to show the core and memory contact points raised to the same level/height. Based on the pics posted by sparetimepc initially, it looks like he assembled that portion by only adding thermal pads on the memory modules (and paste on the die, of course). Not too keen on the idea of fashioning a copper shim to place over the core myself (as has been shown when using something like the EKWB VGA Supremacy block), so is anyone able to confirm that the Bykski block fits with/without any modification to that area? 
• If the idle temperatures shown are representative of their respective performance, it looks like the Bykski block has significantly lower delta-over-ambient / delta-over-core temperatures compared to both stock performance and results from the EKWB VGA Supremacy block/mod, so I'll try to record my current temps with the stock cooler to have a good reference point to compare to. The temperature sensors, as displayed in PrecisionX1, show the card as if there are no memory modules between the chip and PCIe slot, with memory modules installed in three separate rows surrounding the chip. Obviously, the actual configuration of the memory modules has a row installed directly between the chip and PCIe slot, with the "left" side of the chip being the empty side. In trying to understand which components and areas are related to each temperature sensor, is anyone able to describe the layout/labeling of the various sensors on the KP card? Example: the MEM1 sensor is shown over the left-side memory modules in PX1, but if the actual location of those memory modules is the top-side (between the chip and the 'K|NGP|N' logo on the card), should I assume that the MEM1 sensor is reporting the temperature for the location it shows, or for the actual location of the memory modules that it is labeled over? The main purpose for understanding this would be to determine whether it's my memory that is running warm, or the VRM component in the area in which the MEM1 sensor is labeled to be. As seems to be standard, my MEM1 temperature is always the hottest point, sitting at about 14-16c delta-over-core, but I am unsure of what part of the card or which memory modules that is actually reporting. 

Hudson13
Apologies in advance for replying to an old post, just wanted to thank sparetimepc and others who have posted here with advice, progress, and results. I've had a single KP card for a couple months now and have been hesitant to buy a Bykski block after having bad luck with modding an ill-fitting block previously (was careless/clueless and knocked a few MLCC off my previous 2080Ti, bricked), and the HC version is, obviously, tough to find and prohibitively expensive when available. I've now got a Bykski block on the way from AliExpress, so I'll be referencing this post when it comes in. From what I've read here, it seems like the only necessary mod (or, at least, the most recommended mod) is for additional clearance for the Mini DisplayPort ports. And since I'll only be running one card, I wont need any adjustments for SLI bridge clearance. I've ordered an LN2 kit so I may drill clearance for that, depending on how much I trust myself when it's all here. As for drilling clearance for the R15 inductors near the power plugs, I'll probably do the same as with the LN2 kit. 

Questions for anyone who has experience: 

• any specific thermal pad recommendations? I'm not sure what pads, if any, will be included with the block I ordered, and I have a sheet each of 0.5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm, and 2mm cheap pads from Amazon (advertised as 6.0 W/mK, but I'm not sure how accurate/relevant that actually is). I know sparetimepc mentioned that Bykski specified 1.2mm pads (and provided a link to the specific pads recommended, thank you) so if nothing else, I'll be looking into buying some 1.2mm pads to have on hand. Someone had mentioned needing various sizes, and if so, anyone able to clarify/specify what they needed around the card?
• the xDevs writeup by TiN notes that keeping the cold plate installed may be a good idea, but I'm assuming that the Bykski block will not need/fit it, as the pictures I've seen seem to show the core and memory contact points raised to the same level/height. Based on the pics posted by sparetimepc initially, it looks like he assembled that portion by only adding thermal pads on the memory modules (and paste on the die, of course). Not too keen on the idea of fashioning a copper shim to place over the core myself (as has been shown when using something like the EKWB VGA Supremacy block), so is anyone able to confirm that the Bykski block fits with/without any modification to that area? 
• If the idle temperatures shown are representative of their respective performance, it looks like the Bykski block has significantly lower delta-over-ambient / delta-over-core temperatures compared to both stock performance and results from the EKWB VGA Supremacy block/mod, so I'll try to record my current temps with the stock cooler to have a good reference point to compare to. The temperature sensors, as displayed in PrecisionX1, show the card as if there are no memory modules between the chip and PCIe slot, with memory modules installed in three separate rows surrounding the chip. Obviously, the actual configuration of the memory modules has a row installed directly between the chip and PCIe slot, with the "left" side of the chip being the empty side. In trying to understand which components and areas are related to each temperature sensor, is anyone able to describe the layout/labeling of the various sensors on the KP card? Example: the MEM1 sensor is shown over the left-side memory modules in PX1, but if the actual location of those memory modules is the top-side (between the chip and the 'K|NGP|N' logo on the card), should I assume that the MEM1 sensor is reporting the temperature for the location it shows, or for the actual location of the memory modules that it is labeled over? The main purpose for understanding this would be to determine whether it's my memory that is running warm, or the VRM component in the area in which the MEM1 sensor is labeled to be. As seems to be standard, my MEM1 temperature is always the hottest point, sitting at about 14-16c delta-over-core, but I am unsure of what part of the card or which memory modules that is actually reporting. 

Sorry for this post being so long; my specialty is breaking GPUs, not being concise  and thanks again to those who have provided useful info on this thread.