New Build, Screen Goes Black After ~:30

[gbru015]

Ok, I know there have been lots of questions like this already... so I am sorry to start a new thread, but I have read through most of them and tried the solutions and nothing seems to help... Feel free to link or move me as necessary.

I just built a new rig:

Mobo: Gigabyte 990fxa-ud3
CPU: AMD Phenom 2 X4 965 "Black" 3.4 Ghz
GPU: MSI Radeon HD 7770 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127687) linked because there are a few of these...
Ram: G.Skill Value 8GB
HD: Western Digital Blue 1TB 7200 RPM

Ok, so I installed Gigabyte and MSI's driver packages from the CD's. Right after I got through installing Afterburner (this may/may not just be coincidence, not causal), my screen started going black after about 30secs after going to the desktop (Win8 64bit).

I was able to get into Afterburner long enough to turn the core clock down to 985 and the mem down to 1075 (comes stock @ 1000/1125). The screen is fine when I am messing with afterburner, but :30 after I go back to desktop, the screen goes black. The monitor stays on, no lights change... it is still receiving a constant video signal, its just a black signal.

I am pretty much a total noob, but it seems to me that if nothing changes but the video signal, this is a GPU issue. I am not sure what to do form here. Any ideas?

Edit: I adjusted the core-clock down, because I was worried it was a voltage issue. But that didn't solve it anyway, and I was probably digging in the wrong area.

 

[gbru015]

Send the GPU to store. Some HD 7 cards do have that black screen issue.
Get new one to replace it. it would have to go to warranty.

Bummer. You are probably right. Would it be worth running trying a few more fixes with the settings/drivers before I totally give up on the hardware and grab a replacement? Looks like the guy in this thread has literally the exact same problem as me with the exact same GPU: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/380019-33-radeon-7770-screen-black

He was able to get it solved by using beta drivers...

"I uninstalled all the amd drivers/programs, reverted to the intel drivers, no problem. I went to AMD's website, installed the lastest drivers/ catalyst program and still the blackscreen problem occurs. Finally I installed the latest beta drivers and the blackscreen problem went away. Since then the issue hasn't come back."

But I dont exactly know this works cuz I'm definitely still a beginner. I realize I need to 1) Use a third party app to totally wipe out the installed video drivers, and 2) install the latest betas. Can someone give me some quick advice about how that works? Are they referring to AMD beta drivers, or MSI drivers? I cant even get my screen to stay on long enough to get to a download for new drivers