Prior to running stress tests I did the following:
-opened up the card and applied Thermal Grizzly in lieu of MFR thermal paste
-mounted my card to the side of my case with a riser cable and mount
Notables:
-ambient temperature was 23ºC
-ran FurMark at the following settings: 1920x1080 AA-8X MSAA
-GPU runs a three monitor setup; all are 1080p/144Hz/1ms and monitor 1 was used
-GPU clocks were stock with the boost clock at 1974 MHz and memory at 5599 MHz
**edit**
-two tests consisted of approximately 30 mins of stressing with ample cool-down time in between (44ºC)
End results
-min FPS: 67, max FPS: 71, avg FPS: 70
-GPU utilized 85% TDP, 69% fan speed, temperature 70ºC
-no SLM was used; most prevalent noise was due to water pump, case fans, and coolant being flushed back into reservoir
My take:
Not the most 'sound' way to prove a point, but since my parts came in I decided to apply some decent thermal paste while I had the case open and the card out. The board sag was irking me, so I rectified that as well. I do believe in the process that by positioning the card in this manner I have: a) probably reduced the ambient heat in the case and b) increased the level of sound I would hear from the fans as it sits right up against the tempered glass panel. This being said, I honestly have yet to see my card fans push 100%. I don't dabble in overclocking GPUs, and with this beast you really shouldn't have to do that. With an MSRP of $729 (currently on sale), this price point not only trumps a majority of the non-reference cards in price, but all of them in performance as well. I'm quite happy with my purchase, and I really think all this talk of 'coil whine' is either a farce or a fluke. Go buy the card off of Newegg and return it after 20 days if it whines. After that, go buy your FTW3 or Strix. Neither one of these will compare, IMHO.