But one thing I notice is that the card isn't running at full speed according to GPU-Z. (speed should be 725/1000mhz, but GPU-Z shows 400/900mhz at load). I don't know why this is, since the VRM temperatures seem okay. Could the VRM be throttling the GPU? I had that bug too, pretty annoying. http:/...

Could please post gpu-z stats with furmark running in the background for 10-20 minutes? I'd like to see the stock cooler VRM temp in furmark.

I won't be readding the base of the stock cooler until someone confirms that it pushes the VRM down a lot. From what I saw, it just has the plastic pushing tightly to the VRM, so I doubt that it's that much better. The Thermalright sink looks more promising. Even if it doesn't cover both VRMs, but I...

In my old case, I used elastic suspension. I switched to an Antec P183 since, and the silicone grommets in the HDD bays are almost as good as elastic suspension. They dampen vibration almost completely (though this ability may be amplified by other attributes of the case). Suspension was quieter, bu...

Sapphire 5850+S1v2 user here. Fitting the heatsink: Yes, you need to bend the lower 4 fins on the S1, or cut them off. Not a big loss. There's also that guy who removed the DVI Heatsink on his card, but IMO bending the fins is simpler and faster. About the VRM: If the VRM goes above 130, the card th...