Long story short. I went out for dinner with a GPU which worked fine, came back to a GPU which artifacts in games and benchmarks. I have tried 3 different drivers; latest, mid-summer release and the one on the CD. None resolves my issues. I have reseated the GPU and also switched slots without any change. Artifacts are minimal under directX 9 compared to directX 11. I ran DDU each change of driver, removed Precision X before hand and also ran without the program. No changes to my issue. I ran a system restore back from the 1st of Dec but no change. I underclocked the GPU by intervals of 10 all the way to 100 for both memory and core, no change. My system has been perfect for 3 months which is when I installed the GPU. No crashing, freezing, driver crashes, bsods, etc.
With it being holiday season I am not sure how fast EVGA techs will be able to respond so I thought to ask other users as a secondary measure.
Any suggestions?