I'm using crux with kernel 3.16.1 on an HP 8510p laptop.
lspci says video card is
Code:
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RV630/M76 [Mobility Radeon HD 2600]
If I switch to a tty right after boot and try `setterm -blank force`, the lcd and the backlight are turned off the first time. Doing `setterm -blank poke` to turn the screen back on and then doing `setterm -blank force` again results in the lcd turning off but the backlight staying on. After that the result is always lcd off, but the backlight on, unless I do `setterm -blank force` twice in a row which leaves the lcd and backlight off.
dpms in Xorg works perfectly though.
I booted latest Fedora and OpenSuse and it is the same in them.