Could this be a failing power supply unit?
Could this be a failing power supply unit?
Hello, I've been working with this configuration for about eleven years now. Since setting up the PC in 2012, I haven't encountered any issues—until recently when I started noticing frequent crashes. These ranged from the game freezing completely, halting the entire system without audio disruption, to the PC simply powering off entirely.
Some specific problems include a "DXGI_Error_Device_Removed" with HITMAN Absolution, a freeze in Pathfinder WOTR that affects video but not audio, requiring me to terminate the game via Task Manager. Another game, Frtnte Battle Royale, reports a "D3D device removed" error. LEGO Battle Royale causes the PC to shut down completely, leaving it in an unresponsive state where the BIOS screen won't boot and the restart option is ineffective. While I can power off the system by keeping the power button pressed, I must disconnect the power cable from the PSU, wait briefly, and then the PC will eventually reach BIOS before launching Windows 11—otherwise it remains stuck in a black state.
These failures occur unpredictably, sometimes within a minute and other times after an hour. They happen without any clear pattern.
I've tried several solutions: reinstalling Nvidia drivers using NVCleanstall with the minimal recommended packages, formatting the PC every few months, using a Windows Pro license from Microsoft, avoiding any peripheral overlays or extra software, refraining from overclocking, ensuring BIOS is set to factory defaults, and thoroughly cleaning all components—including the motherboard, GPU, PSU, RAM, and HDDs with 99.9% purity isopropyl alcohol. I also replaced the old thermal paste on the GPU and CPU water cooling blocks, vacuum cleaned the board, and used Thermal Grizzly paste for the GPU and CPU heat sinks.
I've also tested the PC under stress using Furmark and OCCT, which showed normal temperatures (-60°C) despite full load, and no crashes occurred after hours of testing. Audio remained stable via HDMI, and no freezing or stuttering was observed during these tests.
I attempted to run the system on Manjaro Linux, but it still faced similar issues while gaming.
Microsoft Event Viewer indicated these crashes were Kernel Power 41 critical errors, and the crash logs from WhoCrashed showed a "WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR" from genuineIntel.sys.
even if it's not a PSU issue, I would replace that PSU. after 11 years, it's time.
have you tried verifying your PSU voltage rails? open your BIOS and look for a section named voltages (different from mobo to mobo).
you'll see various sections such as: CPU - 3.3v - 5v - 12v - in front/below this the actual voltage appears. if the displayed voltage is lower than expected, e.g., 3.3v shows as 2.9v, then the PSU's voltage rails might not be providing enough power for the components to function properly.
this check is useful even without immediate problems, helping to spot possible PSU failures.
The voltages appear normal to me.
The power supply might still be failing even if the voltages are accurate.