Ya mine actually ran cooler when I took the side of my Antec 300 off. I didn't like the dust, so I put it back on, and had the fan by the GPU blowing out, not in.
Flipping the fans on the side did the trick. It's still running kind of hot for my taste (above 80C), but I'm not concerned about it anymore. Although this works, I still wouldn't recommend this card. I'll do a mountain of research once I have the time and see about getting a 3rd 7970, preferably without a locked voltage, I'll see how it compares and add to this thread.