Gaming causes crashes or black screens, yet stress tests don’t trigger them.
Gaming causes crashes or black screens, yet stress tests don’t trigger them.
Hey there, I see you're facing some frustrating issues with your new PC. About nine months ago, you set it up and started experiencing random crashes or black screens during gameplay or idle mode. These problems didn’t occur under stress tests or heavy loads. Your system specs include an AMD Ryzen 5 7600 GIGABYTE, Radeon RX 6800 XT gaming graphics card, and several high-end components. You’ve run various benchmarks and tests without any issues, and your PC maintains normal performance even after extended usage. Most crashes happen only in games like Valorant, Cyberpunk, Fortnite, Forza Horizon 5, GTA V, etc. Despite trying different settings, overclocking, and updating drivers, the problem persists. The Windows Event Viewer shows errors but no prior warnings before crashes. It’s becoming increasingly annoying, especially when playing with friends. I’m here to help you figure out what might be causing this. Let me know if you want more details!
This appears to involve a problem with the power delivery system, as shown by Kernel-Power 41 after a sudden power cut. Your power source is likely underperforming, possibly damaged. Try using another power supply to confirm the issue.
The situation seems quite challenging, as there aren't many resources available to assist. Your PC doesn't generate logs, so if you have time, I'd attempt to identify the faulty component—possibly a power supply unit, graphics card, CPU, or motherboard. (Otherwise, SSD, RAM, or USB devices might be involved.) If you have untrusted USB devices connected, disconnect them. A short circuit on USB pins often triggers an automatic shutdown for safety. Next, remove your GPU and run the PC using its integrated graphics. Since your system also shuts down during idle, this helps eliminate GPU as the cause. Further troubleshooting will become more complex. You could ask a friend with a similar setup to swap CPUs and compare experiences, or consider returning all parts for a replacement (RMA). Be prepared to create a plausible issue for vendors to process your return. Additional steps might include reinstalling Windows, running memtest on one RAM stick for 12–24 hours, and checking GPU/CPU temperatures (you may already have done this).
I could definitely attempt a different PSU, such as one with around 600W from my old PC, which functioned properly before. The unusual behavior is that the computer doesn’t completely power down—it keeps running, fans spin, RGB stays active, and audio loops during the crash until I manually press the start button or switch off the PSU. I don’t have a clear reason for this issue, but it seems the PSU might be the culprit. I plan to test it when I’m back home in about 4-5 hours.
The 600W power supply may not meet your PC's needs (AMD suggests a minimum of 750W for your GPU), and its overcurrent safeguard could cut it off. If this occurs, the whole system will shut down instantly, making it clear you’re facing the problem. With this new detail, it seems the PSU isn’t the main cause (though still possible), but more likely a defective motherboard or another part is at fault.
I believe the issue might be with the motherboard. I could replace the entire motherboard, CPU, and RAM just to check if the problem is related to the GPU or power supply unit. The previous specs were a Ryzen 5 3600x, an ASUS motherboard, and 2x8GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM. I could also try swapping in my old GTX 1660 to see if it makes a difference.