Just looked at the Fe cooler block and it doesn't even have these pads. The only difference is the rear plate lacking a hole load of pads.13.1 degrees delta to gpu on the hotspot. this use to be 10c.
I didn't like installing the block. Two noted challenges with my 3080 FE and this XR7 corsair block.
When putting the pcb onto the block I was unsure if the block posts should come through the pcb to align on the back edge of the PCB. I decided that they didn't. and the PCB lay on top of the post without coming through the pcb.
Once attached and screwed down, I noticed a couple of the smaller edge pads actually didn't make contact.
These are the two that clear have a fraction of a mm of gap, as the card is also for 3080TI I wonder if that is the difference.
The temps suggest its all working though.
Temps seem fine though.