Dave3d
Sigh, good luck on hearing anything back.
I got my 2nd titan x in the mail yesterday going to evga, and I asked about my 1st rma and they said there was absolutely nothing wrong with my 1st card (although I have video of the system booting up with all kinds od lines and everything, and it taking 2 minutes to boot from password to full desktop).
My rma card I got back from them lasted 3 weeks, and then it started having issues with games not playing correctly, then started having the same boot issues as the 1st card.
I just sent that card back in, and if I get another titan x (900 series) back from them, I am going to sell it. It isnt worth the years of hassle that I have had from the 900 series.
I will also buy from another retailer. I have no confidence in evga anymore, or the 'tests' that they run to say a card is good or not.
I put my (yes, evga) 780 in and it runs better than either of the titan x's I have had (except in those 1st days of running the cards. The 1st card lasted 6 months, the rma lasted 3 weeks).
 
Even if I get a 1000 series back, I see they have issues as well with overheating also?
Maybe my next card will be an ati. Will be so sad to go back to them, but if nvidia cant stop their cards from overheating, what other choice do we have?
 
:(

I had nothing but issues with all but the last two EVGA GTX-680 boards that I still have. I also complained about the testing methods they used to determine that there was nothing wrong with any of my 680 boards. I assure you that I know perfectly well how to tell that my video board is the culprit behind my problems but EVGA can't find anything wrong. From my independant research with various members and EVGA owners, we have determined that EVGA uses a much lower quality GPU chip than any other manufacturer. While all of the video review sites were bragging a +150 OC boost right out of the box with no extra voltage  I never got anything above +100 to run stable and even that didn't last long. Each and every board slowly fizzled out until it would freeze up and crash at the factory clocks. Silicone lottery? If it says EVGA on it you already lost any chance of getting a winner. I have had only 1, count it... "1", with an ASIC higher than 75 and it was my last and final purchase of anything by EVGA which is a GTX-980 ti FTW with an ASIC of 80%. No, it's not worth the hassle or expense to constantly pay for shipping to EVGA. They'll keep replacing your junk board with more junk. Just do what I did and switch to a company that has higher standards for the components that are used in their products. I had one issue with my second MSI GTX-980 then the RMA replacement arrived with dented heatpipes. After pitching a fit they agreed to replace that RMA with another and it has been smooth sailing for several years now. I did purchase a 980 ti Classified just because I always wanted a "Classified" which was long considered to be the very best available. Alas, this too was a dud. My MSI GTX-980 ti 6 GB board can outperform the once highly revered Classified with no VBIOS modding involved.

'' Nvidia directly supplies every GPU die. No partner makes the GPU die. ''
 
that maybe true  , but  you can see the PCB can be NVidia  made / branded  or EVGA made / branded   and that could affect how well that  GPU chip works   [reference style ] 
 
zhhl3156  I recall his posts on his 980 ti classy and  like most it seem ed he got duped in to that  ''REF'' classy  that was not in anyway speced as a ''real''  classy card was  [pretty much a  a reference  clocked card wirth the classy name stamped on it ...lol...   I still chuckle  at that deal ]  what did EVGA make like  4  different classy 980 ti's ???    seemed like the one that was part number

Specifications

• Base Clock: 1000 MHZ
• Boost Clock: 1076 MHz

https://www.evga.com/products/Specs/GPU.aspx?pn=a66a54fd-9741-4fab-af24-22bc317106f0
 
 

Specifications

• Base Clock: 1190 MHZ
• Boost Clock: 1291 MHz

https://www.evga.com/Products/Specs/GPU.aspx?pn=EBF7FB45-AD5B-473C-BD91-6480BAD23E82
 
 
[seemed like this one was well liked ?? 06G-P4-0998-KR ]

Specifications

• Base Clock: 1190 MHZ
• Boost Clock: 1291 MHz

https://www.evga.com/Products/Specs/GPU.aspx?pn=3F054106-54BA-44F7-B308-2CB0EA733DE6
 
 
 
I guess EVGA knew  folks jusr see the word CLASSIFIED on something and jump all over it  with out reading any specs  on what they were really getting    / a reference at best card

''we have determined that EVGA uses a much lower quality GPU chip than any other manufacturer ''  
 
maybe ?   pretty much NVidia runs a batch and companies  like evga bids on the lot of x amount of chips    good better speced chips will bring higher price . could be evga only bids on the lower quality batches  to cut overhead of there cards , who knows ? all I know  I use evga  and MSI   and like any brand theres there good and then there bad  and any lemon you may get with any brand 
 
you iknow like these 10 series cards   look at a SC 1080 and then the '' better ''   classy  and there clocks   you only gain a slight 17mhz  ???   use to be you got a classy over a SC you got way better overall clocking out of the box like 90+mhz  ???  
anymore what do you really get for the extra money  ? 17mhz for  30/40 more bucks ??  then for what I see one card don't OC any better then the next  and that luck of the draw  comes more in to play with the 10 series  .  seems like lately you buy a classy just in name  off the classy reputation of past  [for example]   its not like you get really something as you once did 
 
then you knida got to think evga use to have lifetime warrantee  and now it run of the mill  3 year  [and with that cant guarantee a direct replacement  or repair  ]   so I feel they cant stand behind there products as they use to  and no better then a MSI ,asus , ?? card .   it now down to who offers the better price for clocking  on a comparable line of cards 
 
I mean if msi 980 ti is a 1250 card for  400$  and the evga card at 1250mhz  is 460$  I just have to look at the MSi going in the cart  anymore today .   
 
as far as   '' we have determined that EVGA uses a much lower quality GPU chip than any other manufacturer ''    got to remember its all cheap china made junk   by a guy doing a 16 hr shift for a bowl of rice ,  and spitting cards out one right behind the other as fast as they can  . its all about what they can get away with for that bottom line  . 
 
heck I bet evga [and the rest]  nay not even have 75 bucks in a card sent to your door step  and you paid  500 bucks  from a retailer . 
 
 
anyway foir me anymore   it just down to what card I want at a price  weather its evga or msi  [I tend to stick to them 2 brands  only]  ,but????? 
 
you know I was thinking like the hot zotac cards  like there  980ti amp extreme  ??   I seen in forums them cards getting short life as well  ?  maybe getting to the point these companies  trying to sell the hottest factory OC card   maybe pushing there limits in order to do so  and with that you see some premature  failing of them type cards , and why like the 10 series  you only see speced difference of that 17 MHz   between the classy and the lower cards ??? there threshold has been hit and there now being limited on how much they can guarantee and stand behing a factory OC ??
 
its just all a opinion   on how I'm looking at it
 
good luck 
 

arestavo
"we have determined that EVGA uses a much lower quality GPU chip than any other manufacturer."
 
Patently false. Nvidia supplies each and every GPU die to board partners.
 
Sure, the boards can be custom. The GPU die itself is ONLY supplied by Nvidia.

It is up to the end manufacturer to decide whether or not to place a low quality chip into service or scrap it like most companies other than EVGA.

This is what I've been looking for but nobody has them in stock: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137144
Plenty of these available but I should have snagged a pair when they were $549.99: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127952
A pair of 1080 in SLI isn't exactly a stellar leap in performance for me.