All games on my PC are freezing unexpectedly, no matter which service I use
All games on my PC are freezing unexpectedly, no matter which service I use
I’m facing a frustrating issue that’s really confusing me. Recently, I’ve tried playing Borderlands 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Flight Simulator 2020, Crysis Remastered, and more. Each game crashes at some point. My setup includes an Intel i9 9990K with 2x 16GB DDR4 RAM at 2400 MHz, ASUS ROG Strix Z390E with Corsair AX 860i RTX 3090 FE, a Sabrent Rocket 1TB M.2 SSD, an Intel 1TB NVMe drive for the game library, and a 2TB HDD for backup. The boot system uses an Intel 1TB NVMe drive, and I’ve checked all files, run SFC/scannow, reinstalled everything, and cleared AppData—still nothing works. The crashes seem random, and my monitor shows normal power readings. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
My initial thought is the power supply unit could be underperforming for this setup, possibly causing the GPU to fail due to insufficient power. (This should work with a 1000-watt system, though it might be manageable on a higher-end model.) In reality, the most common issue seems to be the PSU shutting down the PC by activating overload protection. If it isn’t tripping, it’s likely one of the 12V power lines isn’t delivering enough voltage for just the GPU. Or maybe this particular PSU uses a different overload method. It’s possible the overclock protection is triggered, but only affecting the GPU. That seems unlikely. Assuming it isn’t the PSU, the next step should focus on drivers—such as the GPU or chipset drivers. Many users overlook installing the chipset drivers during installation, which are essential for proper PCIe operation. When building from scratch, the recommended driver order is: 1) BIOS 2) SSD (like F6 RAID for Intel iRST) 3) All other Intel chipset drivers (including the GPU driver, even if unused), and USB drivers 4) dGPU drivers—make sure to install NVIDIA drivers after Intel ones. If you need a game-optimized version, put the NVIDIA driver first before the Intel one, since the Intel driver will be installed in DCH mode, which may require Windows Update to handle it automatically. But if you want the best performance, install the control panel via the Windows Store instead. 5) Audio drivers, particularly USB ones. Avoid installing DCH drivers unless necessary. Also, look for any unknown devices—if present, they might cause instability because they operate at default power levels. DCH drivers are managed by Windows Update, which is fine if you trust the manufacturer. But using them means you must choose all or none for the same hardware type. The NVIDIA driver won’t allow switching between DCH and non-DCH modes, so be careful.
A crash to desktop occurred without damaging the system. Both PC and GPU functioned normally afterward. I note this was a GPU swap to replace the old 3090 FE. Before the change, nothing was happening. It might be a coincidence or related to insufficient VRAM. The PSU seems unaffected. Power consumption stayed within normal limits before and during the crash. I’ve been using this GPU for several months now. The issue began after installing the replacement unit. This isn’t a first-time build. I should have mentioned this earlier. My apologies for the oversight.
The initial assumption was temperature control, but it seems another part might be overloaded, triggering a safety shutdown.
I can understand that. If everything revolves around games, it seems connected more to the hardware than software, and you've already checked things like verification and reinstallation. We’re certain it’s not about temperature issues. Regarding malware or viruses, could your SSD—where all your computer operations are stored—have been damaged somehow? I’m not very experienced myself, but I can try to help. Just share what you see!