AHowes
Get a hybrid cooler for it. Install the rad at the back fan hole above the card with lines at the bottom.

Then say hello to 2050+ mhz and quiet card.

x2
 
do this, then you don't have to bother with fan placement or changing your cosmetics 

squall-leonhart

AHowes

VegetaCreeper

SlyMarksman
That card really is beautiful. I like the style, but I think I'm still going to go for an open air fan because it will be somewhat quieter and my case has good ventilation.

So I've settled on running the fan at 55 % and that keeps the temps between 85-89 degrees (with full constant load).  I run the power to 120% and have the core bumped up 75 and the mem up 100.

The core clock runs steady at 1847 and the acoustics are very reasonable

You'd be the only happy person with temps in the upper 80c. No point in overclocking as the card will thermal downclock at those temps.

50-60s c is where you want the temps.

70-75% fan is where id go after 40c when it's on load in gaming.

70s is the sweet spot for boost 3.0,  running in the 60's decreases the peak boost.

is this bios and brand dependent? or is it pascal in general? i have one evga ftw 1070 which can hit 2176, basically a god card. however it starts to pull back above 60c and the two msi cards i have are worse. at 60c they hit a wall and downclock regardless of how much voltage you give them
 
i've read the theories behind boost 3.0 but there is an oddity at 60c if that isn't what's actually happening 
 
other threads like https://forums.evga.com/GTX-1080-SC-GPU-Boost-30-Throttling-the-core-at-various-temps-m2542088.aspx
 
call out the same scenario

squall-leonhart
Thats odd then,  Both my pascal boards keep their best peaks in the 70's and i start seeing stepping down if i bring temps down to the 60's, i experimented with both internal fan speeds and ambient cooling.

i wonder if it's bios related. what brands and models do you have running? the msi's specifically hit a wall at 60c

The lower the temps the higher the overclock period! Water cooling custom loop you'll be seeing 30's C on load. Hybrid coolers 40-50 C on load.

Boost will start to downclock the cards depending on the temps and limits of the chip.

AHowes
Get a hybrid cooler for it. Install the rad at the back fan hole above the card with lines at the bottom.

Then say hello to 2050+ mhz and quiet card.

I wouldn't really put to much faith in Hybrid cooling as far is being quiet= still pump+ fan(s) and you hear from some people their hybrids run loud. Blower style cooler is beauty