Is my new GPU defective?

[BaggerX]

I just purchased a new ASUS R9280X-DC2T-3GD5. First thing I tried with it was running 3DMark and the Heaven benchmark. Both were getting a crazy level of artifacting. It was painful to look at. Tried a few different games and got the same effect. This was with the Catalyst 14.4 drivers installed. I then updated to the beta 14.6 drivers and now I'm not getting any more artifacts.

So now my question is whether the card is defective (my old card didn't exhibit any artifacting with the 14.4 drivers.), or if it was just some sort of issue between the card and those particular drivers. Am I likely to run into this again next time I upgrade to new drivers? Should I RMA the card since it had the artifacting issue at all?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Specs:
Intel Core i7-4790
Asus Z97 Pro (Wi-Fi AC)
Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2133MHz
Crucial MX100 512GB
WD Black 1TB (pre-upgrade main HD)
ASUS R9280X-DC2T-3GD5
Corsair Graphite Series 230T
Antec High Current Pro 850W

 

[lavaheadache]

Could be the card but it could also be the psu. Try a different slot in your motherboard as well. Do you have a friend that'll let you drop the card in their system ?

 

[tweakboy]

ATI shanks more then that even.

 

[BaggerX]

Could be the card but it could also be the psu. Try a different slot in your motherboard as well. Do you have a friend that'll let you drop the card in their system ?

I'll try putting it in another slot and see if that makes a difference. My friends pretty much only have laptops, so no way to test in another system.

If it was the slot or the PSU, why would it clear up with the new drivers? That just seems strange. The PSU seems to have been working fine with my other card, and is powering the new one just fine right now apparently too, since I've been able to run every game I've tried on the highest settings.