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I thought I would post this in case it might help anyone else out there in a similar situation or just to be aware of. So I picked up an EVGA Geforce 260 Core 216 SC card. The initial gameplay FPS was outstanding, it did put out some major heat though. Eventually I noticed in COD5 I would get instability with freezing/stuttering/ and pink geometry after about 1/2-hour of play.
Here are the steps we went through troubleshooting:
1. Powersupply Requirement 500w specifically 36amp combined on 12v rail.
2. Clean driver install use "Driver Sweeper" install nvidia 182.08
3. Check temperature during gaming maxed out at 73C.
4. Run ATI Tool/Furmark for memory & artifact issues
5. When I downclocked the card to 550mhz it worked without issue.
6. RMA
In this case I went through the steps but took care of the power supply lastly, because I had a 420w noisetaker and doubted it was the issue. So as a last resort I upgraded to a Corsair HX 520, it wasn't the power supply; but I kept it anyway. Turns out the card was overheating and possibly the heatsink was mis-aligned or something was wrong with the memory. This is why when I down-clocked it worked fine, or turned the fan up to 100% manually it seemed okay. So I returned the card for another and sure enough the new card worked indefinitely without issue. I was told by the rep that the squeal temp for one of these is almost 100C, man is that hot.
So I would recommend if your GTX 260 or 280 is having similar issues you work with support to resolve it, rather than assuming its just a quirk like I almost did. Their support was helpful, fast, and professional so thanks EVGA.
Here are the steps we went through troubleshooting:
1. Powersupply Requirement 500w specifically 36amp combined on 12v rail.
2. Clean driver install use "Driver Sweeper" install nvidia 182.08
3. Check temperature during gaming maxed out at 73C.
4. Run ATI Tool/Furmark for memory & artifact issues
5. When I downclocked the card to 550mhz it worked without issue.
6. RMA
In this case I went through the steps but took care of the power supply lastly, because I had a 420w noisetaker and doubted it was the issue. So as a last resort I upgraded to a Corsair HX 520, it wasn't the power supply; but I kept it anyway. Turns out the card was overheating and possibly the heatsink was mis-aligned or something was wrong with the memory. This is why when I down-clocked it worked fine, or turned the fan up to 100% manually it seemed okay. So I returned the card for another and sure enough the new card worked indefinitely without issue. I was told by the rep that the squeal temp for one of these is almost 100C, man is that hot.
So I would recommend if your GTX 260 or 280 is having similar issues you work with support to resolve it, rather than assuming its just a quirk like I almost did. Their support was helpful, fast, and professional so thanks EVGA.