Something is amiss here.
It can't be the fault of the AIBs, because Nvidia has to greenlight their designs and there are reports of the Founders Edition experiencing the same problems.
There are reports of cards that have not been overclocked crashing as well, it seems foolish simply to try to explain this away as a few individuals being overzealous with Afterburner.
Whilst Nvidia may not guarantee anything above 1710 MHz, they market the cards with boost, so if the "solution" requires downclocking the cards or limiting the boost, they have engaged in false advertising.
It is too soon to say what is at play here, but there are too many people jumping to Nvidia's defence: whatever happens, they are not going to come out of this smelling of roses.