Try bumping the NB. Take it slow. I get BSoD @ 400x9, but strange enough mine is stable at 450x8. I would do small increments starting from 300x9, and make your way up. Took me 3 days to tweak my voltage and have it stable under prime.
non conductive would mean that it does not conduct electricity... The AS 5 is conductive. performance-wise the MX-2 is as good as the AS5 (some say its better) and without the burn in period of 200 hrs.
I had a similair problem with my 4850, not sure if its gonna work in your case, but it did in mine.
enabled AI - advance
In Device Manager:
disable secondary card. then delete the primary card (keep existing drivers). scan for hardware change - restart - then re-enable the secondary card -...
Until its soft enough to insert them into the barbs. Using hot water on a tygon 7/16"ID 3/4"OD, I just dip it in for10 secs. Since you're using 5/8"OD, should be less.