Two new R9 290's, three new problems.

I

IIvII

Weaksauce
Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Messages
69
Just got the XFX 290's from the egg on BF, never had an install issue with a video card setup until now.

1. No boot screen. none. At first I thought there was a connection problem with the cards but when I left the computer run for a minute it went to the windows login screen. What would cause the boot screen to stop running?

2. Card in top slot would turn off after logging into windows. Catalyst show both cards connected. Green light located on the graphics card (close to power ports) would pop on immediately after the card would turn off during windows startup. *NOTE* This issue first occurred when all monitors were plugged into the bottom card. Any other variation apparently allows both cards to stay running after windows loading. After trying multiple setups I went back to the original configuration of all three monitor plugged into the bottom card and now both cards are staying on past windows. Random issue?

3.Monitors will not wake from sleep mode. I paused a video, came back to try to unlock from sleep mode, turned the video back on and I could hear the sound but no picture on any screens.


What the hell is going on?! BTW i'm running a 850PSU and i7 920CPU.
 
Last edited:
The issues only occurred the first day after installing the new cards. I don't see how a PSU would affect bios boot screen from displaying while running windows fine.
 
Issue 1 sounds like windows is choosing a random screen. Might be trying to use HDMI rather than DVI or DP or one of those combinations. This happened to me after I had a loose cable on my main monitor and windows tried to boot displaying my TV which is on HDMI, I was in a WTF moment for 5 minutes until I realized what happened.

Issue 2. Makes me so glad I haven't adopted crossfire yet. Sounds like a random issue.

Issue 3. I discovered I had this problem with my kid's computer which runs a 7870. When EDID (found in CCC > My Digital Flat Panels > display color (digital flat-panel) was enabled I had problems, this took me like 2 hours to figure out after all sorts of configuration changes and stuff, it was WEIRD issue but I haven't had the problem since and my main pc running R290 does not have EDID enabled, correlation? possibly, I don't feel like testing as it is a pain in the rear.
 
I fixed first two issues, but another has risen.

Why is it that when I enable crossfirex is disables my secondary card? As in, shuts it off completely? Is it a power management feature?
 
Last edited:
It is a feature that when the second card is not needed it will disable until it is needed. Pretty much power management.
 
IIvII said:
I fixed first two issues, but another has risen.

Why is it that when I enable crossfirex is disables my secondary card? As in, shuts it off completely? Is it a power management feature?
Click to expand...

Turn off ULPS
 
IIvII said:
I fixed first two issues, but another has risen.

Why is it that when I enable crossfirex is disables my secondary card? As in, shuts it off completely? Is it a power management feature?
Click to expand...
It powers down the 2nd GPU in CrossFireX configurations for power-savings. If you watch the GPU usage in Afterburner or another similar tool while gaming, the 2nd GPU should wake up when you fire up a game.

I wouldn't turn off ULPS unless you are experiencing other problems.
 
Have you checked to see if there are any BIOS updates for your motherboard? I think some of the latest GPUs since GTX 7xx/R9 2xx have some issues with older boards due to their UEFI vBios, particularly x58 boards.
 
Monitor not wake up thing can be a real pita. I have seen it with some drivers, but the ulps turn off seams to have fixed it (use afterburner for this) additionally assuming your monitor cables are easy to reach if you unplug the monitor then plug it back in usually you will get your screen back.

As far as the bios screen, most likely the machine is selecting one port from your cards to display to, so you could just pick some and see if you get it, or maybe hit the pause / break key during boot then swap ports until it lights up?

What motherboard are you running? There are some issues with the AMD cards and the x58, but I think this is limited to cards with only the ufei bios on them, so either a bios update (might be reason above too) or maybe switch your bios switches to the different position and see if that fixes those issues. I think for most bios' there is one ufei and a legacy mode too.

Finally you could always check here to see if you have the latest gpu bios http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/153579/xfx-r9290-4096-131223.html
 
deaedius said:
Issue 1 sounds like windows is choosing a random screen. Might be trying to use HDMI rather than DVI or DP or one of those combinations. This happened to me after I had a loose cable on my main monitor and windows tried to boot displaying my TV which is on HDMI, I was in a WTF moment for 5 minutes until I realized what happened.

Issue 2. Makes me so glad I haven't adopted crossfire yet. Sounds like a random issue.

Issue 3. I discovered I had this problem with my kid's computer which runs a 7870. When EDID (found in CCC > My Digital Flat Panels > display color (digital flat-panel) was enabled I had problems, this took me like 2 hours to figure out after all sorts of configuration changes and stuff, it was WEIRD issue but I haven't had the problem since and my main pc running R290 does not have EDID enabled, correlation? possibly, I don't feel like testing as it is a pain in the rear.
Click to expand...

Would the 7870 not display if that was enabled?
 
IIvII said:
I fixed first two issues, but another has risen.

Why is it that when I enable crossfirex is disables my secondary card? As in, shuts it off completely? Is it a power management feature?
Click to expand...

Yes. This is AMD's "ZeroCore Power technology." It's a bit annoying. I just turn ULPS off.

AMD ZeroCore Power technology leverages AMD's leadership in notebook power efficiency to grant our desktop GPUs the ability to power down when your monitor is off, also known as the "long idle state." This is great for those times when you've stepped away from your PC to take a call, watch TV or pop down to the store. Furthermore, AMD ZeroCore Power technology allows additional GPUs in an AMD CrossFire™ technology configuration to shut off when they're not in use-even the fan stops spinning. An AMD-exclusive technology, AMD ZeroCore Power ensures that unused or idle GPUs are as efficient as possible. Even the most hard-core gamer with an AMD CrossFire™ multi-GPU configuration benefits from AMD ZeroCore Power technology. Unused or idle GPUs are shut down until needed to conserve power.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top