So i was fed up and frustrated with my EVGA GTX980 FTW after purchasing it 3 weeks ago as it crashes black screen buzzing sounds from my speakers any time I use the card in any situation it has any normal to high usage for anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes after i launch a game and or reached 60 degrees give or take.  So i went to Newegg to start a RMA and was in chat que forever so i started digging into all the reviews and found a guy had mentioned that he had to down clock his 980 FTW core speed -40mhz to get it stable.
 
So i went into precisionX and changed my factory OC boost core clock from 1404mhz to 1367mhz.  And guess what?  Now it works like its supposed to. Ive tested it for 5 days now with zero issues.    So Neweggs website and EVGA's website actually says the 980 FTW has a boost clock of 1367mhz.  So why did my card come clocked at 1404mhz?  

Ya it's not a power supply issue.  I had 970 SLI before returning them and getting a single 980 with no issues.  It's also a good power supply CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W Gold.  The fact that it runs perfectly stable for 5 days and 6 nights now under heavy load at the 1367mhz boost suggests they didn't test it from the factory.  Thanks for the suggestion

That sucks.  My issue is it crashes with the EVGA factory clocks.  I don't really even care about overclocking.  That's why i purchased the FTW card.  Now i get to spend an extra $29.99 for EAR so im not down...
 
I contacted support and have started an RMA.  Thank you for your replies and suggestions.

talkischeap
That sucks.  My issue is it crashes with the EVGA factory clocks.  I don't really even care about overclocking.  That's why i purchased the FTW card.  Now i get to spend an extra $29.99 for EAR so im not down...
 
I contacted support and have started an RMA.  Thank you for your replies and suggestions.

When did you buy this card?  I purchased mine 2 weeks ago.  I paid next day shipping, so I lost those funds.  I had my card not even 1 day and it constantly crashed.  I did not waste my time with any diagnostics, I just called EVGA and they did a cross shipment, since I just purchased the card.  I just uploaded my receipt for them and they did a authorization ($1) on my card and shipped out the new one.  That is one of the reasons, I have stuck with EVGA on this upgrade - Customer Service.
 
Since you purchased from Newegg, you must've gotten one of those cards I got.  It seems Newegg still has some old stock from release.  My BIOS was one of the older version and is known to have this issue, per Nvidia (saw their comment in the Nvidia forum thread about the BIOS).  I'm glad you did your RMA with EVGA as oppose to Newegg because you most likely will get a similar replacement.  This is my theory.
 
My newly replaced EVGA card works like a charm and boosts to 1502 (+110 on the core) with no problems; however, I do notice that my 980 does not like it if I run my CPU (i7 2600K) any higher than 4.2MHz or it crashes.  If I go to 4.3MHz it crashes, take it back down to 4.2 no problem.  My 2x 680s had no problems with the CPU even at 4.6MHz.  Maybe my CPU is getting old or is just hurting the 980 - don't know.

Methodical2

talkischeap
That sucks.  My issue is it crashes with the EVGA factory clocks.  I don't really even care about overclocking.  That's why i purchased the FTW card.  Now i get to spend an extra $29.99 for EAR so im not down...
 
I contacted support and have started an RMA.  Thank you for your replies and suggestions.

When did you buy this card?  I purchased mine 2 weeks ago.  I paid next day shipping, so I lost those funds.  I had my card not even 1 day and it constantly crashed.  I did not waste my time with any diagnostics, I just called EVGA and they did a cross shipment, since I just purchased the card.  I just uploaded my receipt for them and they did a authorization ($1) on my card and shipped out the new one.  That is one of the reasons, I have stuck with EVGA on this upgrade - Customer Service.
 
Since you purchased from Newegg, you must've gotten one of those cards I got.  It seems Newegg still has some old stock from release.  My BIOS was one of the older version and is known to have this issue, per Nvidia (saw their comment in the Nvidia forum thread about the BIOS).  I'm glad you did your RMA with EVGA as oppose to Newegg because you most likely will get a similar replacement.  This is my theory.
 
My newly replaced EVGA card works like a charm and boosts to 1502 (+110 on the core) with no problems; however, I do notice that my 980 does not like it if I run my CPU (i7 2600K) any higher than 4.2MHz or it crashes.  If I go to 4.3MHz it crashes, take it back down to 4.2 no problem.  My 2x 680s had no problems with the CPU even at 4.6MHz.  Maybe my CPU is getting old or is just hurting the 980 - don't know.

 I got my card on March 3rd 2015.  Unfortunately(as far as using/testing the card) I'm in the middle of buying a house and i had a 2 week lapse where I didn't game at all where it never crashed once.  So after it crashed twice the first day i went a long time without one.  After that it was very sporadic as far as gaming till very recently.  Anyways beyond that situation...
 
Thanks for the feedback.  As far as cpu OC that's interesting.  I have an i5 2500k and have it oc'd to 5.1mhz and have never had a problem with my 670 ftw sli's or 970 sli's overlocks.  Nor this 980 i currently have down clocked 40mhz.  That sounds like it could be something else.

talkischeap

promac
I have the same issue, its frustrating. I uninstalled 3D drivers, HD audio drivers, and I downclocked -50. I'll be testing it this week. I put in a ticket today. I got mine 30 days ago as well, from New Egg. Maybe I'll get a replacement as well. This is why I decided to go with EVGA and not the other brands.
On another note... I read somewhere that it was a North Bridge issue not a PSU issue. Can someone confirm?
 

You only have 30 days from purchase to buy into the EAR program if you havn't yet i'd suggest it.  Downtime sucks and is easily worth $29.99 as much as it sucks to pay for it after getting a defective product.

Thanks for the information, I'm not worried about the downtime. I have a fallback card that is decent. 
 
I posted this possible solution in another thread here. I'm hoping that this works. http://forums.evga.com/FindPost/2315393

Prophit
See my massive thread where i had similar issues.  I'd reinstall windows and install the latest drivers (do not install precision x or anything else except your games).  If you are still experiencing the black screen buzzing them RMA the card.
 
My problem was fixed with a new card... At first i thought drivers, then i thought power supply, then i thought windows... took me a while but im good now (SLI 980 FTW).
 
It's truly unfortunate how many people are being affected by this issue with boost 2.0 and stock clock out of the box settings.  I was very close to ditching EVGA but their support did a great job.

Man, that's too much work for a known problem and a known solution (rma) - just send that joker back to EVGA and go snuggle up with the lady while it's in transit.  I'm sure she feels a whole better and you will have a whole lot more fun with her than reinstalling all that crap and then be disappointed.
 
Just One Man's Opinion

I don't know if this helps, here is my PrecisionX settings for my FTW end result is a max at 1535 MHz no touching power
 
 
 
David

I really hope that my RMA replacement card that is coming now will have this issue fixed. There are TONS of reports on various forums about this "black screen" issue, not only with EVGA cards but with various 970 cards that are OC out of the box. I seriously, seriously suspect a hw design flaw with some of the earlier cards or a problem that at maximum boost some cards don't simply provide enough voltage. (It's the more a problem if a card's maximum voltage is limited by its components (voltage regulators), say if a card cannot supply more than 1.212V. Because I am pretty certain that, while this of course should not be happening to begin with, a modified BIOS with a notch or two higher voltages COULD solve this. (For people who are savvy enough to mod BIOS of course).  Of course, since many of the cards are volt-locked this is impossible so down-clocking is the the only temporary fix, besides RMA and hoping you get a newer card like the SSC+ or FTW+ where those problems see to be solved).
 
Note to card manufacturers: This is what you get when you try to save money on components. Losses due to defective cards and high RMA return numbers. Had any of those cards better components like a voltage regulator that allows highe voltage, I *think* a simple BIOS update with adjusted voltage table would've been all that's needed. That's how I see it.
 
 

xamantis1
Hello everyone about 2 hours ago I solved this problem
Was just about to set up the GPU -80 and Mem clock off set on -80
now since 2H I'v been playing HoS and ff14 with no issues no black screen no crashing system 
My graph is 980 ftw
I hope its gonna work on yours PCs as well

Yea. We know. With latest drivers you need to go all the way to -150MHz to get stability. That's not a solution.
We are waiting for a BIOS fix that doesn't involve downclocking.
 
See here: http://forums.evga.com/FindPost/2359111

Methodical2

Prophit
See my massive thread where i had similar issues.  I'd reinstall windows and install the latest drivers (do not install precision x or anything else except your games).  If you are still experiencing the black screen buzzing them RMA the card.
 
My problem was fixed with a new card... At first i thought drivers, then i thought power supply, then i thought windows... took me a while but im good now (SLI 980 FTW).
 
It's truly unfortunate how many people are being affected by this issue with boost 2.0 and stock clock out of the box settings.  I was very close to ditching EVGA but their support did a great job.

Man, that's too much work for a known problem and a known solution (rma) - just send that joker back to EVGA and go snuggle up with the lady while it's in transit.  I'm sure she feels a whole better and you will have a whole lot more fun with her than reinstalling all that crap and then be disappointed.
 
Just One Man's Opinion

hahaha. Goooooood point