Hey Paul, I just wanted to let you know what I did and if the problem has been fixed. Turns out my psu, as you had predicted, was not powerful enough. These 290s need a lot of juice. I bought a really good 80 plus gold 750 psu (its a single rail one too). I am no longer having any issues at all anymore! Thank you so much for the help. I’ve noticed a lot of ppl are/were having problems with 290s/xs and im thinking its because a lot of ppl like me didn’t realize just how powerful these cards are and how much power they require. It feels good to finally use my card for its intended purpose…gaming! Thank you again, you saved me a lot of time and im so glad I don’t have to RMA the card.