When I say fried, I mean I could smell burning components of some kind from under the heat sink. I had this card less than 8 days, so I am not going to bother to see what it is. I spoke to a representative and with the EAR program, they send me a prepaid box and my new card will go out tomorrow overnight delivery and as long as they receive my fried card within 14 days my credit card will not be charged. The EAR program is well worth the $16.99 when you register it. I may well buy the EVGA 680i MB for the same reason. Heck, if that fries I can have a new one to me in a day, cant beat that. Is the EVGA 680i a decent board? I love their support, if their product is even remotely competitive I'd take it for that reason alone.