Encountered unexpected pauses on your Windows gaming PC. Need guidance on resolving it.

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R_J247
Junior Member

21

06-29-2022, 07:41 AM

#1

Hello, I'm facing an unusual problem where my PC occasionally freezes for just two seconds. This mainly occurs when opening resource-heavy websites in Chrome, like YouTube, or when launching games. The mouse stops responding and audio cuts out, then everything returns. It started about a week ago, and I haven't changed any hardware settings. I've tried several fixes: reinstalling Windows, updating BIOS, disabling overclock/XMP, removing USB devices, wiping GPU drivers with DDU, updating chipset drivers, clearing the Event Log, and checking latency with Mon. The issue doesn’t seem to be related to latency. My specs are: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus, Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB, Lexar NM710 1TB NVMe, Corsair CX500 500W (from 2018), Windows 11 23H2 with all updates. I suspect a hardware fault—my PSU is aging and the GPU power output is modest. Do you have any software suggestions to help diagnose this strange freezing behavior? Or should I consider replacing the power supply? Thanks.

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Esic1999
Junior Member

35

06-29-2022, 11:31 AM

#2

The issue isn't the power supply alone; 500W isn't sufficient for the 6700 XT. I use 650W with my i5-12600k and it works fine. There seems to be another problem—your GPU and CPU aren't being recognized at full speed in games or on YouTube.

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Captain_Oveur
Junior Member

20

07-03-2022, 05:16 AM

#3

I think the disk might be the issue. Review the SMART report—it often doesn’t flag problems. A full readout would help. The 500W should be fine because the GPU and CPU aren’t high power. I’m not sure about the CX500; it sounds like an older model with lower specs, around 450/550W when it was better.

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LupusGladiator
Member

183

07-03-2022, 09:11 AM

#4

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ladymorepork
Posting Freak

791

07-03-2022, 05:14 PM

#5

CrystalDiskInfo displays only basic information, and all error flags appear as zeros. A screenshot is attached. I'm also trying HD Sentinel. The model is IIYAMA G-Master GB3467WQSU-B5, a 34-inch 165Hz ultrawide screen. HDR is off, but FreeSync works. I've been using it for over a month now, and the problem began last week. Are you running Windows 10 or 11?

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Dareu2
Junior Member

37

07-04-2022, 01:35 AM

#6

I've encountered situations where SMART didn't flag issues but read errors were clearly present, leading to freezes comparable to your observations. It seems the drives in those cases were actively working to resolve the problem before signaling an error.

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ken810
Member

66

07-06-2022, 01:36 AM

#7

Surface read test finished successfully with no issues. It seems cloning the Windows install to another drive might help determine if the problem remains. The main concern is whether an SSD failure could cause the "brightness-flashing" behavior when switching tabs in games, unless it's a completely unrelated issue.

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GGlobato
Member

176

07-06-2022, 02:53 AM

#8

Join the discussions here! Try updating the operating system to a brand-new drive and check if it resolves the issues. Make sure to run SFC/DISM on the existing installation first. Cloning installations might lead to complications. It can be quite frustrating.

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maximumpats
Junior Member

46

07-06-2022, 03:02 AM

#9

The situation is becoming less appealing, especially after your thorough review. I haven’t personally felt this way. It seems manageable since progress is possible. How frequently do these freezes occur? Also, do the disk operations require significant GPU power?

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meep922
Junior Member

35

07-13-2022, 04:37 AM

#10

It’s not life-threatening, yet it bothers a lot. Freezes usually occur when launching a large website in a new tab, like YouTube or Twitch. Also, your friend is planning to take your old RTX 2060, so you can check if the GPU is the problem.