I asked this question about 3 years ago and got a mixed response.
Will simply setting a elevated 3" fan over the backside of the GPU help cool it? I think it would for OC'ing. What do you think?
Sometimes those metal backplates actually trap heat, makeing things worse. >_>Tibor, the owner of EK blocks, mentioned that his backplate dropped VRM temps by only a couple degrees. It's really only used for aesthetic purposes. I highly doubt any cooling on the backside of the card will help overclocking at all.
It certainly would not help. There is typically no components on the foil side of the card that generate vital signals AND need active cooling. The foils do not get hot as there is no/minuscule voltage being dropped.
It's designed the way it is for a reason.
Which mod? Replacing the HS was a massive difference. The only thing that gets reasonably hot now it the VRM output inductor, that reaches a little under 60C. Pretty much everything else on the surface shows under 50C, and the core itself stays ~60C with ~55% fan speed at full load.
I don't have any thermal images that show the difference between adding a case fan blowing on the card and none, but it does rest a little lower on the fan speed/ temp load line with the extra airflow than without.