EVGA Has VBIOS Update, Thermal Pads For Overheating GTX Cards

There's just no getting around the laws of physics. The faster you go, the hotter you get. Thanks to Samsung, consumers have become increasingly worried and wary about electronics overheating, and you can't get any hotter than the behemoth graphics cards inside desktop computers. That is exactly the problem that beset a good number of EVGA's GeForce GTX 1080, 1070, and 1060 cards, which has been riddled with reports of overheating and, in some cases, catching fire. To combat that, EVGA is issuing a firmware update that tweaks thermal management to safer levels and is offering free thermal pads for those who still want one.

To its credit, EVGA has responded quickly and openly to complaints about its cards. The journey started in late October, when a publicized stress test showed some thermal management problems with an EVGA GTX 1080 FTW. Other consumers have also reported overheating issues, with some even posting YouTube videos as proof. This has prompted EVGA to investigate further, leading to the update and free offer.

To be clear, EVGA says that only cards that use its ACX 3.0 cooler are affected by this thermal mismanagement issue. Other cards that use different cooling systems, like the Founders Edition, Blower type, HYBRID, and HYDRO COPPER editions, are safe. The simplest method would be to upgrade the VBIOS firmware on the card. While EVGA includes instructions on how to do so, customers who are uncomfortable with the procedure can opt to send back their cards to be replaced with one that already has an updated VBIOS.

And if that isn't enough, which would probably be the case for overclockers, EVGA is offering affected customers a free thermal pad to apply on their graphics card. Should users manage to mess that up when applying the pad, EVGA will still honor its warranty.

SOURCE: EVGA