Troubleshooting R7 260x

Allegrif · September 2, 2017

I got this for a steal on Amazon to temporarily replace my Intel HD graphics until I can get a better card later. Literally just wanted it to play FIFA, as even my crappy Celeron and 4GB RAM seem able to play it going by YouTube; it's just the Intel graphics that struggle.

When I installed the card and connected the video output, it booted up fine but the image was stretched, presumably because of a lack of drivers. I then installed the drivers and it reverted to the correct resolution. However, there were random black squares/artifacts allover the screen which weren't present before installing the driver. After an hour or so of troubleshooting the issue just got worse. I can now no longer get to desktop using the discrete GPU - it gets to the login screen and then wthin a few seconds it black screens. Issue persists regardless of HDMI or VGA, although the images look slightly different with each type of output. Windows 10 is my primary OS, but I have a dual boot of Linux and the issue was also present there.

I'd send it back, but I have a feeling it's not the card. The Amazon listing specified that it had been tested as working and comes from a reputable seller. Could it be my PSU? I have a 450W craptastic, off-brand, made in China PSU. I'm wondering if it might not be delivering the full 450W of rated power? Could that cause the issues above?

I have a big pay day coming up soon and I'm planning to dump the entire rig and start again with much higher end parts, but until then I'm scratching my head trying to get it to work...

System: Celeron G3900, H110M-K, 4GB DDR4, 3 x 7200RPM HDD