Computer Freezes/New GPU

[guppy44]

I'm having trouble with my card and I'm seeking some expert help here.

I received my new replacement Radeon R9 290x Lightning yesterday (first one was DOA) and installed it. This time the PC recognized it and everything appeared to be fine. I installed the drivers and used it for about 90 minutes with no issue.

Then, out of no where, it froze. The computer completely locked up with no use of the mouse or keyboard. After a hard restart, I've had the same issue. I've tried installing different versions of the drivers with mixed results. The older drivers freeze within a couple minutes at best and the monitor display goes all snowy. I'm currently running AMD 14.4 drivers as it's the newest ones MSI says runs okay. I can now use my computer between 20-60 minutes before it locks up and needs a hard restart.

I can't think of any hardware issues. I have used my Radeon HD 4870x2 for 7 months without any problems. Here is my setup:

ASUS M4A88TD-V motherboard
AMD Phenom II x6 1055T processor
10 GB DDR3 ram @ 1600MHz
MSI Radeon R9 290x Lightning GPU
1100W PSU (gray area as I'm not sure what PSU I have...)

As mentioned before, the HD 4870x2 works great without problem, but the new card locks the whole computer. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... 1 ) Is there a MB BIO's Version you can Upgrade too?
2 ) Check Your Power Connection Pins/Connectors.
3 ) Try cleaning your Video card connector with Rubbing alcohol, and making sure it get seated and screwed down properly into your MB/Case... No side or angle force ( sata cable ) between your video card and MB.

 

[guppy44]

Hello... 1 ) Is there a MB BIO's Version you can Upgrade too?
2 ) Check Your Power Connection Pins/Connectors.
3 ) Try cleaning your Video card connector with Rubbing alcohol, and making sure it get seated and screwed down properly into your MB/Case... No side or angle force ( sata cable ) between your video card and MB.

Thank you for your reply.

I believe there may actually be a motherboard bios update I could do. The MSI updater that came with my card says it's up to date, but the ASUS website has a version from 2012 that may be newer than mine. The updater software isn't loading (says I'm trying to open a 64-bit Windows version without running 64-bit Windows, but I assure you I most certainly am running Windows 7 64-bit). I'll see if I can find a way to update it (haven't messed with computers like this in years).

Also, there was a SATA cable pinned down between my motherboard and GPU. I've cleared all the wires and it should be good now.

It's strange. The computer works great using the graphics card if there are no drivers installed and it's just recognized as "generic VGA adapter". As soon as Catalyst drivers get installed I have maximum 20 minutes before a full computer freeze.

 

[guppy44]

I updated the BIOS to the newest version from the ASUS site. The card still crashes. It still works great without drivers, but any Catalyst driver makes it freeze or the screen turn snowy. Could this be a PSU issue, or another faulty card?

I have some pictures if they will help.