Core temp stays around 59C, the case has excellent air flow, 2x 120mm intake, 2x 120mm exhaust. I don't believe it's from overheating. That particular GPU was in a different system with much less air flow with higher temp around 72-78C and never happened. I'll swap another GPU in to see if it happens again.
What about the gpus' VRM temps?The core typically has thermal paste on a sink, but often the VRMs have a piece of thermal padding. these are sufficient for gaming and common graphical purposes.