Finally have my replacement 8800GT.
TK was right, it was definitely a faulty cooler.
This card struggles to get past 76degC in rthdribl HDR test after half an hour on fullscreen.
On high settings in DiRT the card only hits 71degC max and thats when the room temp is rather hot.
No more 95degC artifacting temps for me!
Now it all works properly.
Wait you have the VF830 right?