Interesting read. I have the 1st release PNY Ultra (bios .13) and have never had a single issue. Seems they say the latest bios reduces performance by relaxing timings. I am rather sceptible about the bios being an issue since there are so many people NOT having problems with older bios.
The .10.13 bios gives me much better performance and stability than the .15.07 bios... I was only able to reach 445mhz on the core w/ 1.5v with the .15.07, but with the .10.13 I'm able to reach 460mhz... In Doom 3 timedemo it averaged 61fps at 1280 X 1024 (high quality setting, 4X Anti, and all eye candy on)