It takes quite a bit of compound to do the job properly...all connecting surfaces should get a thin coating. I used AS3 on mine because I had it. And no, the plate on the back doesnt make contact with the card.
Brent,
I miss seeing "The Benchmark Slayer" in your siggy. I know why you pulled it, but I think it's time to say fuck it, and put it back.
Loved the Sapphire reviews also...
It's really nice....I almost bought the Arctic cooler, but the quality was poor, it kinda felt like a cheap toy in my hands. Plus, the Zalman was made to fit inside the shim on ATi cards, so good contact is guaranteed.
At this point I would reinstall the stock HSF and see if that fixes things. If it doesnt, then you unknowingly physically damaged the card in some way....I dunno....
If you dont remove the shim, you'll get worse cooling then if you'd have stuck with the stock cooler. At least the stock cooler is bevelled to make contact with the core...
That's not my card. You gotta check this shit out though....
http://imageevent.com/marginjohn/viperjohn
This is a guy from the Futuremark forums who started his own little company....totally insane:cool: