Screen goes black randomly, PC still running - other strange behavior

[drewlark]

Since I've had an AMD R7 260x I have been having very random crashes as described in this closed thread. One thing I have noticed is that when I am in a skype call, the other people in my call can hear me, and I can hear them. My keyboard is unresponsive (tapping numlock/capslock/scroll lock does not toggle light). The only way to resolve this issue once it has occured is a restart of my machine. It seems to occur most often when playing games, although I have observed this on a few occasions while just browsing. I have run tests of my memory, upgraded my PSU, and have tried different cables for both the HDMI cord and the power to the GPU. I have the latest stable driver. In the past using the beta drivers has not worked. I have an AMD phenom x4 2.8ghz CPU along with a M4A77D mobo. I am running Windows 7 Home Edition

Edit: running a stress test on my GPU doesn't seem to cause any problems. It didn't get much hotter than 70 degrees celcius and there was no such crash.

Edit: Ran brief stress test on CPU, stays a lot cooler than GPU, still no problems.

 

[drewlark]

Happened again today, I have a theory it has to do with in game anti-aliasing conflicting with card for some reason. After turning off AA in all my games I have had no problems.... But its not unlikely that it just hasn't happened again yet.

 

[bayonet14]

This is a known issue with R7 260X. Visit this thread http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2089881/sapphire-260x-black-screen/page-9.html
..and RMA your card if you can, the R7 260x is a dud. Most people think it's a power issue but it's more of a driver issue.
Download and install 14.12 omega driver and use DDU to remove your previous one.

 

[drewlark]

This is a known issue with R7 260X. Visit this thread http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2089881/sapphire-260x-black-screen/page-9.html
..and RMA your card if you can, the R7 260x is a dud. Most people think it's a power issue but it's more of a driver issue.
Download and install 14.12 omega driver and use DDU to remove your previous one.

I've had the 14.12 omega driver. Just used DDU and reinstalling for safe measure. Don't think there is much of a chance I can RMA.

I haven't had any problems since I turned off AA but thats probably just random

 

[drewlark]

Uh no, I've had the same crashes just in different places. My only crashes have been in menus now since running DDU

I'm gonna try fiddling with MSI afterburner.

Did underclocking your GPU actually work out for you, bayonet?

So I slightly downclocked my gpu and so far it hasn't crashed in games.

overclocking the GPU is definitely not good for anything.

*sigh* looks like I'll need to get a new GPU at some point as I don't think I can RMA. Underclocking improved stability in game, so thats my solution for now. I'll update if I find a true solution. Is AMD aware of this problem?

 

[bayonet14]

Yes it fixed everything for me.. Underclocking fixed random black screen crash for most people with old drivers and we had to underclock it to 850mhz to get it working right. Even the newest 14.12 still have problems like 'amd has stopped responding and has recovered'. I had to underclock my core clock and memory clock at around 50-100mhz to get it running stable. One thing I learned is not to get anything overclocked out of the box from AMD.