Thaid

Thanks guys. Your guesses were basically right... FORGOT THERMAL PASTE. Thankfully no damage.. at least I don't see any.
 
Side note: The new XSPC Razor blocks seem to do the job. VRM temps are low 30's and the gpu temp is about avg 42 under gaming load. So far satisfied with these blocks!

Little update.. AsusROG on a youtube comment said "Newegg exclusive the first week of August and projected MSRP of 300 to 310. Thanks for the view and support." so it looks like Newegg gets first dibs and then everyone else will sell it afterwards either this coming week or next week!