Are video games stuck when I switch between tabs?
Are video games stuck when I switch between tabs?
Hi everyone, I've been having trouble with my computer when playing games. Sometimes I close the tab and come back, but the screen stays black like nothing happened. It takes me a few tries just to get back in and play. At other times it crashes right away or freezes up completely. What could be wrong? Is there a way to test if something is broken so I can know what's causing this?
Here are my computer parts:
Processor: Intel Core i5-13600KF with 13th Gen
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
Windows: Windows 11 Pro (64-bit)
RAM: ASUS Prime Z790-P D4
I heard that my CPU is causing problems for games. Does this sound like the little cores inside the CPU are breaking or failing? If I can tell you more about my setup, maybe I could get a better answer. If it's all because of the processor, what would be a good replacement part to buy that fits with the same type of socket? My computer skills are pretty basic. --Mark
Is it one specific game or a bunch of different ones? If you only have one, try running Borderless Window. It looks like full screen even if the window is small. But sometimes games pause when they aren't the active window. Maybe your game just doesn't work well with that stop-start system. Developers can fix this by coding support into their game.
If there are several different games, it gets more complicated. Did you have this problem before or lately? If not always, what software change made things worse? Another option to try is a clean OS install. That means formatting the hard drive and reinstalling with a fresh copy of the OS. Any Intel 12th, 13th or 14th gen CPU on LGA1700 socket will work. Basically, these CPUs are: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/cpu/#k...s=12,13,61 (Note: some CPUs there are weaker than what you have but I can't filter those out).
The best upgrade would be the i9-14900K if you have enough money for it. Here is a comparison between that and an i5-13600KF: https://technical.city/en/cpu/Core-i5-13...-i9-14900K
Actually, the best CPU would be the i9-14900KS Special Edition. But availability and price are huge issues compared to the regular version here: https://technical.city/en/cpu/Core-i9-14...i9-14900KS
Thanks for your comment. It's actually several games, and I run all of them in full screen mode that lets me do that. The problem started suddenly right after the new build was out. Everything worked fine before and then great for months, but now things are going wrong. I thought it might be a software issue so I did a complete reinstall of my operating system. But the problem still happens, so I think it's something to do with the hardware. I will take a look at the new chips you sent me, thanks! Does this sound like a processor problem or could it be something else?
Yeah, with clean OS install and issue still happens, it comes down to hardware. Could be RAM too. Download and run memtest86, link: https://www.memtest86.com/ Guide to install and use it: https://www.memtest86.com/tech_creating-window.html 1 full pass (all 15 tests) is bare minimum. 2 full passes are better while 4 full passes is considered acceptable. Since it takes a while, best to let it run overnight. 1x 8GB ~1h per 1 full pass. ~4h for 4 full passes. 2x 8GB ~2.5h per 1 full pass. ~10h for 4 full passes. 2x 16GB ~5h per 1 full pass. ~20h for 4 full passes. If there are no errors - RAM is sound. For absolute testing of RAM, 32 full passes are needed (due to test #7). Further reading: https://www.memtest86.com/tech_individua...descr.html But no-one in their right mind is going to do 32 full passes, since it takes forever + then some. Especially when you have a lot of RAM in the system. Consensus in the tech support is that 4 full passes are enough. For an off-chance, it could come down to GPU as well, whereby GPU fails to re-initialize itself once you bring the game as active window again. For GPU testing, there is Unigine Superposition, link: https://benchmark.unigine.com/superposition There are actually others as well, like 3DMark, FurMark, PassMark and many latest games have their own in-game benchmark as well. Same for CPUs, many benchmark programs, like: Cinebench, Prime95, AIDA64. For Superposition, best to use presets available and check the final score against same GPU you have, from Unigine leaderboard. To see how your GPU fares. Link: https://benchmark.unigine.com/leaderboar...gpu/page-1 1080p Extreme is GPU torture test. Now, Superposition doesn't tell if your GPU has fundamental flaw, it instead tests it's performance. But if you see stutters/artifacts during the run, then you can further investigate the GPU. Now, when to think about it 🤔 , it would be a good idea to bench your CPU as well. Cinebench is good since you can compare the results score for the same CPU from the net as well.
You might try some tricks I've tried when you pause a game while it's frozen or your PC stops working just like you said. My problem was because I had several computers running on a KVM switch, so if a game paused and I moved to another one then back to the game, everything froze. My trick is this: if it's a Steam game, bring up the overlay with Tab + Shift, then hit the Windows key. That keeps the game in a state where I can just click back in later. Or if I can't use the overlay, while the game pauses, I press Ctrl Alt Delete to get to my pinned Firefox tab. That suspends the game without freezing it. When I want to play again, I just click the icon of the game on my taskbar and instantly go back into the game. But there are two games that refuse to work this way: the original Crysis and F.E.A.R 2/3
Hi everyone, I've messed around with some cool stuff for my favorite video games, but when it comes to Space Marine 2, if I just click away from the game or switch tabs while playing, the computer locks me out and I can't get back in.