M17x-r1 HD 5870m Overheating Question - Bad Card?!

Hi,
So I purchased a used HD 5870 pulled from a R2 and installed it in my R1.
Prior to installing the card, I re pasted it using Noctua HT-N1.
Upon first booting up the card and running Furmark, I ran the test for an entire hour at 1440x900 with my temps stable at 85c.
Then I noticed a couple days later my system was running hot during gaming, so I ran Furmark again and within 90 sec my card hit 90c.

So I re pasted again, thinking possibly that my paste job was not sufficient, and the exact same sequence of events occurred.
I did notice my thermal pads did look a little rough, and I have ordered some new ones, but they won't be here for a week or so.
I also ordered some ICD thermal paste, in case that the Noctua stuff was no good.

So my question is, is there a chance that this is due to a bad card? I bought it used off ebay, and if it's a bad card, i'd like to return it within the 14 day period.

Or do you think it's more likely the thermal pad/paste situation? Considering my card did run perfectly fine for a couple days after pasting, it leads me to think the card itself is ok, but I was hoping to some opinions from some veteran NBR members here.

What do you guys think?

 

Furmark may burn out your GPU, we never recommend using it.

Try to re-paste and use the new thermal pads, then test temps and performance with another benchmark like 3dmark or heaven.

 

Ok,
So new update, which is a new problem.
I received my thermal paste and pads, along with a second 5870m I purchased.
I installed the new 5870m I bought with the new pads and paste as a master in my machine, and I am worried this new card might actually be damaged.
After installing, my system booted up and everything seemed fine. Then after about 5 minutes, my screen started flashing a bunch of colors (ie entire screen was red for a few seconds, then blue, then green, etc.) then my system just crashed. So i removed the card again, used some compressed air on the port where the GPU connects, and reinserted the card to make sure it was properly installed.
So i booted my system up, and after a few minutes my entire display went fuzzy. I took a photo this morning, the quality isn't good but you can see how the display looks.
Here is the link to the pic ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
So after trying to reinstall the drivers, and rebooting a few times, my system seems to alternate between either of the 2 issues.
Is this card fried?

The person I purchased it off said it was used as little as a month ago in his system as a slave card.
Is it possible this card could have been working fine for him as a slave in a crossfire configuration, but when used alone as a master I am getting issues?

I am going to install it as the slave in my machine tonight and see if I can get crossfire working, but I feel like this card may be damaged.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

That's most certainly a faulty GPU, and i seriously doubt that it will work in slave slot.
I'd bet my money on laptop not even turning on.

Out of curiosity, can you plug it to external monitor, and check, if that happens on external screen too?

 

I can give that a try later when I get home from work.

I had my other 5870m working just fine on that machine earlier yesterday, so I don't think it's a issue with my screen if that's what you're referring to.

 

No, not that the screen would be faulty. But i'm 99% sure, that gpu will work wihout problems on external screen.
GPU has issues displaying on Built-in display.
(seen that problem a couple of times :/ and would really like to know how to fix it, as the gpu work properly, but only on external display)