R9 290 black screen issues, need help please

I feel it has something to do with powertune, try googling for a way to bypass it.

What I think is while you run no intense tasks at all, like pure 2d and no real GPU usage, powertune reduces GPU clock and voltage a lot, probably the card you have is having an issue with downclocking that it does not receive enough power to run in 2d/light mode.

I suggest you to RMA that card. In my opinion when a product does not perform as specified it should be replaced by vendor anyway. Yours must be having an issue with properly running in power saving mode.

I can only think it`s driver related to the card.
Maybe you should look into a different version of ATI CCC video drivers.
Have a look that your not using a Beta driver by chance.
Or the driver you have is old, maybe a different CCC driver version will resolve the problem.

Other than that check there is no problem with the existing Bios firmware revision for the R9 card you have.
I know some boards required a bios firmware update to stabilize the board when an R9 was used in the setup.
So have a check.

Also have a look at your windows power scheme for the system.
Maybe changing the setting to High might resolve the problem.

Is your card still working fine? I have been having the exact same issue as you with my Sapphire R9 290 (black screens soon after startup while doing normal tasks; totally fine if I start gaming right away). I have been using the 14.4 driver. Sapphire support has already stated I probably have a hardware issue after they sent me a new bios to flash to without that solving the problem. Before RMAing, I tried to install the 14.7 and I have not been able to reproduce the black screens. Hopefully, this means it isn't a hardware issue and I don't need to send the card in?

Thanks for the response. I was consistently able to make it black screen if I started surfing the web for a few minutes after booting. With the 14.7 drivers, I cannot get it to do it again. Hopefully it is just a driver issue, and subsequent drivers will not break it again. I believe the warranty from Sapphire is good for 2 years, so I guess we will just have to see how it goes with future driver updates. Thanks again.

Damn, the exact opposite is in my case: 14.4 rock solid, 14.7 immediate black screen, while in 2d mode. While gaming, or boosting voltage, it's fine,14.7 simply require a greater voltage (+25) in my case, while 14.4 can run with no issues at all, at 0 voltage modifier. Sapphire Tri-X 290 OC edition... It must be somehow related to 1300 MHz clock of DRAM, but again, how it works just fine with 14.4 and 1300 MHz ? What the hell happened in 14.7 ?

I'm having a very similar issue with my R9 290... black screen when in 2D stuff. I've tried some different drivers.. may try the beta drivers. I may also try a new PSU... not sure if my PSU is up to feeding in enough power with the 6 pin / 6+2 connector. (Antec Trio 650)

Anyone else having this issue with the 14.9 and 14.11.2 drivers? I had to revert back to the 14.7 drivers for the time being.

I decided to try using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), a program available online that is supposed to completely clean your system of a driver install. I removed the AMD drivers in the control panel add/remove programs, then booted into safe mode (DDU recommends this) then ran DDU to clean the rest up. I then rebooted and installed the beta drivers (14.11.2) and had no further problems for the last week.

I did this same procedure with the new 14.12 drivers (completely uninstalling from control panel, boot into safe mode, run DDU, install new 14.12 drivers) and I have not had a black screen yet, but I just did it this evening so I will be sure to let you know if I get one. Maybe try my method if you encounter any further problems.

Sorry to hear that. With 14.12, I don't seem to have any problems doing normal 2d tasks, but, after testing some last night, I am getting black screen while gaming instead now, usually within a minute of starting up a game. It is especially bad with Dragon Age Inquisition, but I had one with Skyrim as well. Sometimes, after forcing restart since that is all I can do when I get a black screen, I will finally get a game going without any problems.

So, I tried lowering the memory clock and upping the voltage a bit to see if that helps. My memory clock is defaulted to 1400, so I dialed that back to 1375. My voltage was already set at +25, and I only bumped it up to +30 for now. I gamed last night after that without any issues. Of course, it seems like any solution we find with this always turns out to be temporary or not applicable to others' systems. It got late last night, so that is all I have at this point. I will post back with the results of changing the clock and voltage after I do some more trial runs later.

Good luck.

Yeah, before if I gamed right away I would have no issues. It always was when I was doing normal tasks in Windows. I don't know why it switched around on me like that. I am going to do some test runs tonight and will report back regarding whether changing the clock and voltage seems to help at all.

Update: After using the 14.12 drivers with the memory clock at 1375 and +30 VDDC for a few days, I have not encountered a single black screen. It is pretty annoying that every time new drivers come out I have to worry about whether I will encounter problems or not.

Hi, i do not know if this is a working solution guaranteed but it worked for me for two different cards in our house (Sapphire Vapor x and a Powercolor PCS+) .I had the black screen issue and found this solution online .It has some other tips for tweaks on it aswell.I hope it helps or atleast gives people some ideas ?

"Everyone is complaining about this card type showing black screens and etc. Here is the reason why so listen carefully. Catalyst Control Center has 2 settings inside it which do NOT PLAY WELL with the VBIOS on this card, so they should be turned OFF. The AMD Overdrive AND Graphics Overdrive causes Catalyst to set the wrong voltages for the card thus starving it for power. Use Catalyst to set your GRAPHICS SETTINGS ONLY, and use MSI Afterburner to tell Catalyst what speeds and voltages to see...THIS WORKS FLAWLESS!!
To install this card read and follow carefully :
Download MSI Afterburner and also DDU ( Google- Display Driver Uninstall )...and AMD OMEGA Driver 14.12
Uninstall ALL ATI SOFTWARE using Windows remove programs and Catalyst Uninstaller
DO NOT REBOOT-DO NOT REBOOT-DO NOT REBOOT
Run DDU to remove ALL extra settings and registry keys left behind by Catalyst
DDU will say it needs to boot in safe mode to complete so allow it to do what it needs to
Now you can SHUT DOWN
Remove old card and install new one
Boot up and install OMEGA Driver 14.12
REBOOT
When Windows starts you will see a pop up asking you to enable virtual resolutions select NO and DO NOT SHOW AGAIN ( Virtual Resolutions can be enabled inside Catalyst...and if you are using a standard monitor or HDTV then Windows wont scale properly at 1080p )
Install MSI Afterburner and set to RUN AT STARTUP
REBOOT
IN CATALYST : Make sure the Overdrives are OFF and set graphics as follows:
DESKTOP 1080P @ 60HTZ @ 32Bit...12 BIT COLOR...and enable Virtual Resolutions if desired
Also adjust Overscan if the picture has a black border
Antialiasing:
Enhance-Enhance-Edge Detect-Supersampling-Morphological Filtering OFF
Anistropic Filtering:
Use App-Use App-High Quality-ON
Wait for Vertical-OFF
Open GL Triple Buffer-OFF
Tesselation:
AMD Optimized for BOTH
Now you open MSI Afterburner and DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED...it looks more technical than it is.
Set Core clock at 1030
Set Memory clock at 1400
Set Core voltage at +38
Set Power limit at +20%
Make sure you save your settings into a profile..then load and apply that profile...so it boots with your PC
NOW you can put on your Bib, load your favorite game, and prepare to drool all over your keyboard!! You will want to set up your own fan profile in Afterburner so it runs cool and quiet, and this is best done when gaming so you can adjust where you like your temps to hover. For me, as I have mine set, I can max EVERYTHING and this card wont go over 62C! Some games will screen tear a bit because this card actually drives the game harder than it should, but you can solve this with IN GAME VSYNC, don't use Catalyst.
Games I play :
World of Tanks : 35-85 FPS max settings-no VSYNC ( slight tear but barely noticeable )
World of Warplanes : 60-135 FPS max settings- no VSYNC
Tomb Raider : VSYNC @ 60 FPS constant for tearing- max settings
Skyrim : VSYNC @ 60 FPS constant for tearing- max settings
Metro Last Light :VSYNC @ 60 FPS constant for tearing- max settings
Shadows of Mordor :VSYNC @ 60 FPS constant for tearing- max settings
Diablo 3 :VSYNC @ 60 FPS constant for tearing- max settings
Star Trek Online :VSYNC @ 60 FPS constant for tearing- max settings
....Just to name a few. All games are run at 1920x1080 resolution and look utterly amazing!
This card is an absolute BEAST! The closest NVidia card you can buy to this one is a touch better but TWICE THE PRICE!! This card is VERY hard to find anywhere, and AMD retails this card at over $500, so the Amazon price alone should sell you. It has a lengthy install but it isn't complicated, and setting it up correctly will provide such a great gaming experience you will forget the effort. I got this card January 5th so it has been 3 weeks AND I CANNOT FIND ANY CONS!! That is why my review is so PRO PRO PRO. Maybe cons will surface, but for now, there is only enjoyment. BUY THIS CARD AND INSTALL IT CORRECTLY and you wont be disappointed! The only warning I can give is MEASURE TWICE BEFORE YOU BUY because this card is 12 inches long. A full tower should have no issues, Mid towers may have a few issues, smaller cases I don't know.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you found valuable information within."


, regards nocliptoni.