See, I repasted mine immediately. I'm no stranger to R600 thermals and with a ~65% fan curve with the new paste I see no higher than 77C across any sensor. It's still far worse than the FX 5600 (which chugs along at 54% fan speed and 74C load) but it's not any worse than the original 2-pipe 2900 XTX cooler.
This pair of sisters, and then a random MSI 8800 GTX (middle) that I saved from a scrap bin awhile back.
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I recently received a 790i FTW that is not in the greatest condition, but all the important bits work. I will probably transplant the triple SLI arrangement to that soon. Would like to get that board on the bench and really push it.