Troyhe98
Honestly, for the amount of money you paid for this card you should expect it to work flawlessly and never have to worry about a safety issue. I would return it if I were you and go with another product until EVGA can figure this out. I have seen pictures of cards EVGA "fixed" where the thermal pads aren't coming in complete contact with the cooler and leaving a gap. This is all very troubling.

That was my other point, I did not want to be in a situation where I had to return this unused card for a very used modified card. Call me old fashioned but when I pay 700 bucks for a card I want to be the one and only owner of it.

bedwyr2501

Troyhe98
Honestly, for the amount of money you paid for this card you should expect it to work flawlessly and never have to worry about a safety issue. I would return it if I were you and go with another product until EVGA can figure this out. I have seen pictures of cards EVGA "fixed" where the thermal pads aren't coming in complete contact with the cooler and leaving a gap. This is all very troubling.

That was my other point, I did not want to be in a situation where I had to return this unused card for a very used modified card. Call me old fashioned but when I pay 700 bucks for a card I want to be the one and only owner of it.

100% agree! Not to mention what the resale value of these cards will be. I can't imagine anyone wanting to buy one of these used.

Troyhe98
100% agree! Not to mention what the resale value of these cards will be. I can't imagine anyone wanting to buy one of these used.

Boxed up and sending back, shipping label created.

My thermal pads are on the way.  Is there any issue with re-seating the GPU Heatsink using Arctic Silver?  I've used this stuff on CPUs for ever and its always been great.  I have 3/4 of a tube left from a recent build.  Is there any reason why I should not use it on my 1080 SC?  Can't imagine why
 
Oh and FYI the BIOS update dropped my GPU temps by about 11 degrees.. now sits around 70 degrees playing Titan Fall 2 on 1440p ultra. thats pretty significant, and its only slightly louder. I'll do the thermal pads too, because.. why not?  
 
Anyway.. I think EVGA's response has been good. A BIOS update and free thermal pad program within a few days.  As someone pointed out earlier, had this been ASUS or MSI you would of got nothing, probably not even an official statement.  EVGA is still my favorite brand, and i'll still continue buying their hardware. 
 
My only question is, what happens if a heat related issue occurs after the warrantee has expired? Is there any sort of coverage for that?  Its only 12 months right? Im a bit concerned about slow burn damage happening over a a year or two once the warranty is over.

wrayver
My thermal pads are on the way.  Is there any issue with re-seating the GPU Heatsink using Arctic Silver?  I've used this stuff on CPUs for ever and its always been great.  I have 3/4 of a tube left from a recent build.  Is there any reason why I should not use it on my 1080 SC?  Can't imagine why

Any thermal compound will work. Arctic Silver will probably be better and gain you a few more degrees of cooling than the stuff EVGA will ship out with thermal pads, and which comes pre-installed on new GPUs. 
 

My only question is, what happens if a heat related issue occurs after the warrantee has expired? Is there any sort of coverage for that?  Its only 12 months right? Im a bit concerned about slow burn damage happening over a a year or two once the warranty is over.

I really hope that EVGA do something about this, as well, such as extending the warranty's by 2 years.

Personally I don't use AS5 on my GPU's. Not only is the paste starting to show it's age it's also slightly capacitive and not something you want to spill over onto the GPU substrate etc. Even the Arctic Silver website has a warning regarding this.
 

Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

I would use Arctic Silver MX-4 (which isn't conductive) over Arctic Silver 5. Arctic Silver MX-4 or Noctua NT-H1 are the two best thermal compounds, IMO, without getting into liquid metal.

yeah, I would not use AS5, as its conductive. MX4, GC Extreme or TG Kryonaut....

What is the secondary BIOS on the FTW ACX card?

Hello,
 
My first ever EVGA product 1070 SC. Can someone shed some light on these thermal pads and BIOS issue? At first it was reported to be just the FTW line that had issues. Then slowly it spread to the SC line as well, disappointingly.
 
Is it best to do both? Do none? I've been getting conflicting news and answers.
 
What exactly is the conclusion here? If theses pads are NOT necessary, then why are they being made available, and going forward ALL cards will have them? Why should the end user have to do surgery on the card to make it work? If there was really no issue, then why not stand firm and simply state there is nothing wrong with the cards?
 
I would like to get a "fixed" card, but I don't feel like I should be responsible for shipping the thing.
 
Will my card life be reduced in the future if I do nothing? I feel that EVGA should be offering the option of a refund especially in light of this issue, but I have emailed asking for one and the question was not answered, so I guess it is not out possible to return the card. (I've used it for a month now) 
 
If I purchase a brand new car and pay full price, I shouldn't have to expect the manufacturer to send me a new radiator and expect me to install it on my own, or ask me to pay for all the charges related to bringing in my car to get an overheating issue fixed.