Desktop·25,145 discussions

Radeon R9 290X Experiencing “Driver Timeouts”

Tags: Hardware

Hi,

I recently bought a working Radeon R9 290X and have a system for it. It works great for compute work like video editing. But when I open a game (like Fortnite) it loads a little then it experiences a “Driver Timeout” according to the crash reporter tool. I was wondering if you had a solution for the problem. I am hoping to get back to a better experience than an Intel UHD 630 graphics I am on now.

I have a in my system:
Core i7 9700K
32 GB of 32mhz RAM
ASUS Pirme Z390P
A Corsair CX 550

I am using the most recent drivers the “Adrenalin 2020 Edition 21.2.3 Optional” as said on AMD’s driver page on their website.

I play in Fullscreen, the temperatures were at the normal 54C (idle anyway). The frequency and the VRAM frequency were normal before the crash occurred. I noticed that there was a notification that said that AMD wattman has crashed and the settings were reverted to defaults after I closed the came window. There was some screen flickering before the fans speed went back to normal (fan profile reset).

Thank you so much!

Topic

The R9 290x I know of is very old for a graphic card.

In reply to Radeon R9 290X Experiencing “Driver Timeouts”

Most are seeing “issues.”

Just like https://linustechtips.com/topic/1310437-radeon-r9-290x-is-experiencing-driver-timeouts/ I’d like to get more PC details.

I won’t duplicate their ideas here but look at the hardware from what I’m seeing at the shops.

1. The card is too old to expect to be in its prime.
2. The PSU is OK unless it’s over a year old since they age fast and the TDP is 290 Watts. That means the 550W PSU may be an issue here. Remember this area is well discussed about how power supplies age fast and we must be at 200% of max Watts if we go past a few years. Even then that may not be enough.

-> My advice is to return the old card. Yes I know that graphic card prices have spiked recently.

PS.

In reply to The R9 290x I know of is very old for a graphic card.

If the card can’t be returned, tear it down to replace the heatsink compound, clean and reassemble. Remember that all this about the R9 is on the web, we know it was a problem card when new and it never got better.

https://linustechtips.com/topic/304069-highly-recommend-r9-290-290x-user-to-change-their-thermal-compound/ for example.

Yes, I did call this a bad card. So did others.

Thank you for the idea

In reply to PS.

Thanks that is a good idea, I will try to turn down the power limit in the Radeon software and see if that works. I have already taken off the cooler and applied new thermal compound. Thank you so much!

P.S. that was me on the LTT forum, I asked it again on a different forum because I didn’t get very good help.

Still pushing luck.

In reply to Thank you for the idea

More ideas at https://community.amd.com/t5/graphics/default-radeon-wattman-settings-has-been-restored-due-to/td-p/132283

The fact you are driving TWO DISPLAYS is also a bad idea with this card. That’s double the work for a specific part of the chip and board.

The Motherboard has more than one PCIe slot so there’s something to try but I find many DIY folk won’t or can’t swap out the PSU.

-> At no time can I tell you it’s this or that. There are too many variables here. That’s where a repair shop comes in and does all the work done the list until they find what parts or such it is.

For me, the PSU and GPU (card) are prime suspects. Lowering the power limit won’t change the instantaneous power draw so it’s still possible to crash with that set very low.

One more thing

In reply to Still pushing luck.

I noticed that the computer didn’t completely shut down, so I don’t think that the power supply has too much blame. The card worked perfectly on a Corsair CX 450 M but I swapped it out for a bigger PSU just for comfort.
I googled the recommended PSU and it said 550 watts (which I have).
The card works great in general compute like video rendering, but when I use an application the needs a large load (game) the card (or driver) has issues. Tomorrow I will try the AMD Cleanup and tell you how it goes.

IT WORKS!

In reply to One more thing

I super updated Windows after using the AMD erase thing, I reinstalled the Radeon drivers and turned the fan speed up and the power limit to -25%. Both of my monitors are plugged in. I then opened up Fortnite and logged in. In the lobby, I cranked the settings to max everything and the frame limit to 60FPS and the game ran at 60 FPS 80% usage. The GPU clock stayed at 400 – 500 MHZ and the game ran.

That’s great news.

In reply to IT WORKS!

In parting I never like to see a PSU at the minimum suggested rating. Those machines always tend to come back to the repair counter.

[Author]

Replies