Update: Scroll to the bottom for a link to get your free EVGA thermal pads.

EVGA has confirmed that there is an underlying problem with their custom GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 cards, and has gone about fixing the problem in a very consumer-friendly way. As of Monday 24th October 2016, owners of EVGA GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 cards will be able to get free EVGA Thermal Pads to attach to their graphics cards between the backplate and the PCB, and between the baseplate and the heatsink fins.

Check out the official statement from EVGA on their forums here.

This comes after a roundup review from Toms Hardware, showing the cards were becoming stressed at what EVGA describes as extreme usage levels. EVGA are known for their post-sales service, and were quick to do their own testing and come up with a solution. Upon realising the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 cards were becoming overly hot around the middle of the PCB, EVGA tried placing thermal pads in key locations on their graphics cards and were able to reduce the temperatures. “EVGA understands that lower temperatures are preferred by reviewers and customers.” Jacob from EVGA said in the official response. Here are the temperatures EVGA was able to achieve using the same stress testing Toms Hardware did, only with the thermal pad modifications:

Owners of EVGA 1070 and 1080 GTX cards should head to EVGA’s website on Monday (or probably Tuesday Australian time) to get their free EVGA Thermal Pads sent out. Even if you’re not a hardcore overclocking PC gamer, requesting these thermal pads will extend the life of your graphics card by keeing the temperature lower over the course if its life.

Update: Head to http://www.evga.com/thermalmod/ to fill out the form to get your free EVGA thermal pads sent out. The form accepted our Australian address and there was no shipping fee.