Devildoll

Since quite a while now ( 2008?), Intel has their memory controller inside of the CPU instead of embedded in the north bridge.

due to the relationship between the ram and the memory controller, and how their separate voltages affect each other, high enough disparity between these voltages are said to potentially cause damage in the cpu.
on the x58 platform, people were told that higher than 0.5 v difference between ram and uncore/memorycontroller voltage was dangerous, i don't know the specific guidelines around your platform.

I don't think that should be a problem though, most DDR3 that can be bought today should run at 1.35 or 1.5, and if Intel says 1.5 is ok, then you have nothing to worry about.

If you use the computer daily,
Moving your operating system and frequently used programs to an SSD, is one of the biggest lifestyle improvements you can make! relative to the cost.

Ideally you want to be able to have you operating system, as well as some games and programs that you use often on it.
I was struggling on my 120 GB SSD, which was fine when i bought it, but last year, with games getting huge, all i could fit on it was basically windows and battlefield 4.
I bought a 500 GB SSD to replace it, and after installing everything i wanted on it, i leveled out at about 100 GB free.

A samsung 850 evo 250 goes for about $80-100, if you think you can manage on 250 , go for it, otherwise, the 500 GB model is usually around $160-180 as an example.

@hkabaran : check out how the new airflow does in games too.
When was the last time you cleaned the front dust filter on the case?

Yeah covering all of it is best for sure, I get that logic, I've just been a bit clueless on how much more it helps than just covering the area above the actual chip.
The argument i've heard and seen for the pea method has always been lower risk of air bubbles from letting the cooler push the paste into place, instead of having the whole surface covered from the beginning.
I did use a creditcard in the past, but after i read about the pea method i just started using it, not because it was faster, just cause i swallowed the argument about the air bubbles and stuff, even though i didnt have any temp issues prior to switching.

Since GPU's don't have an IHS I'd assume that it is more important than on cpu's to get as good coverage as possible. msi goes a bit overboard tho

if you've got a reference card, they're "supposed" to be that hot.

When it comes to the reference 290x, they actually hit 94 c during most gaming, and even have to throttle back in order to not exceed it.
This strix cooler should be doing better though.

How long have you had the card for? has it always been like this?Looking at this review you should be around 70c, especially seeing as your other components seem to be pretty cool in idle on your screenshot.
As you can see, their computer eats about 400 watt at max load, and your PSU has about 500 Watt on the 12 volt rail, so that is not an additional concern.

If your case and other components have normal temps but your graphics card is this abnormally hot, I'd say you've either got a heatsink full of dust, or very poor contact between the cooler and the chip ( due to either loose screws/missing washers or bad thermal paste ).I personally run an Arctic accelero xtreme 3 on my 290X and it typically doesn't get hotter than 60c, the PCB should be the same as yours, unless asus has a custom layout on their strix cards.
One solution would be getting a hold of one of those, if you can.

I thought the method most people agreed on as best was a blob in the middle, especially on cpu's where the actual chip is just a small area ( usually in the center ) under the IHS.but covering the area on the side is probably not a bad thing.

@oursin_360: people in the comments say his results are a bit off, the pretty limited test that he has done should not be taken as absolute fact that a 920 means that you wont get your moneys worth out of a 1070.
In this thread, another person got slighty different scores.

As DX12 and mantle become more and more prevalent, the 8 threads of the 920 will have a renascence.
But yea, in games with older style engines, where single thread ipc is important, a modern cpu might come in handy.

Yeah, I've said this before, but i really like the influence Phil has on the Xbox team.

Made your link an actual link.

@oursin_360: if you don't want to do much testing, just bump the clocks up to around where the oc models are, and then don't go further. In the particular case of the 1080, it is hard to buy a more powerful product, at least at this point in time, but i meant it as general advice for any graphics card purchase.

a 1080 is always a 1080.

Any factory overclocking/performance difference will in almost all cases be less than you can achieve on your own.

If you want to overclock, just buy the card with the best cooler, and then do the oc yourself, if you dont want to overclock, just buy the 1080 that's most value for the money.
If you're going to spend more money, don't buy a more expensive 1080, buy a more powerful product entirely.

Personally, I just go with a reference design (because i usually buy them before the customs arrive) , I've yet to fail at overclocking higher than any factory oc has been able to reach in a review.