Apps display black displays during startup or shutdown phases.
Apps display black displays during startup or shutdown phases.
I've been using my PC for a while now, built about a year or two ago. Mostly I paid for individual components on Amazon, except the GPU which I got from Ebay for its listed price. That means I can't just visit a store for assistance. From the beginning, I've experienced inconsistent black screens. The EZ debug LED on the motherboard would sometimes stay lit while the CPU LED stayed off, or it would just cause a restart. This tends to happen when launching a game, playing one, or closing it down, or even during shutdown. Whenever the debug light remains on, I have to manually turn it off and then wait for Windows to restart. It's never been a blue screen, just black. This seems to occur more often than I thought—sometimes 2 to 3 times a week—and I occasionally lose important progress in my CAD work, even if I save regularly. Most of the RGB lights stay on, except a few GPU lights, though the green backlights stay lit for some reason (see attached photo).
My guess is that either the CPU isn't seated properly, breaking communication between CPU and GPU since the GPU still gets power to light up some LEDs, or the GPU is drawing too much current for the PSU to manage, triggering overcurrent protection and causing a black screen. At 15, even buying a tube of good thermal paste to try a CPU re-seat from Amazon is a big expense—around £10 (about a month’s pocket savings). The alternative would be a much more expensive solution, like getting a higher wattage power supply and checking if there’s something else I haven’t thought of.
Operating system: Windows 10 latest update, 64-bit
Case: Corsair SPEC-Omega white edition (front glass removed for airflow)
Fans: Corsair HD120 x3
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB, 3200MT/s CL16 (A-XMP enabled on profile 1; tried disabling but no improvement)
Storage: 2x Samsung 1TB 860 QVO SSD
Motherboard: MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC Wi-Fi (using latest BIOS from MSI site)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 2700X 8-core, cooler: Stock Wraith Prism RGB air cooler
GPU: Palit Gaming Pro GeForce RTX 3070 OC (factory OC, underclocked attempts failed; now running default settings)
Peripherals: Logitech G703, G433, G213 Prodigy PSU – Corsair tx650m 650W
Power supply: Logitech G213, Corsair tx650m
Notes: Camera quality is poor; own a cheap Samsung smartphone.
When does the red light activate? It appears to trigger during startup rather than immediately after a restart. The LEDs seem designed as an alternative to beep codes, indicating a POST event—likely a rapid crash that prevented the BSOD from appearing. It might have specific meanings on this particular motherboard, though the manual should clarify. Most of these indicators are electronic now, possibly requiring a download or update. If the system overheats, that could explain the issue. There seems to be a pattern in timing, such as a consistent delay after a restart, even without heavy usage. This inconsistency could point to a failing PSU. On the positive side, the CPU is aging and may be limiting graphics performance, making an upgrade a reasonable option. A Ryzen 3 chip should fit the motherboard without major issues.
During startup, all illumination activates briefly before switching to the next one. Once the lights dim completely, the display shows the standard post message and proceeds to launch Windows. The guide notes that if the CPU indicator remains lit, it suggests a detection failure or malfunction, which contradicts my current usage. There’s also irregular timing in crashes, often occurring during software launches or shutdowns. It appears CPU activity spikes during these moments, possibly leading to instability. I can run Minecraft with a basic setup and sometimes experience crashes, which adds to the inconsistency. I’m considering upgrading my CPU but noticed discounts on Ryzen 5 and 7 models at Amazon. This still doesn’t clarify why the GPU lights turn off and the screen disappears entirely during crashes—I’ve observed the monitor disconnect from the GPU in such instances, possibly linked to a CPU issue. I plan to stress-test the CPU further to determine if that triggers failures.