Occasional restarts happen during gameplay, even with minimal settings.
Occasional restarts happen during gameplay, even with minimal settings.
Hello! I've noticed some unusual PC restarts lately. They began a few weeks after purchasing my RTX 2060, though not immediately afterward. It's unclear how these two events are connected. The restarts seem to occur when the GPU is active, but occasionally in specific situations. Right now, they happen while playing Destiny 2 via Steam (sometimes the game won't launch until the PC restarts), while rendering with Blender, and during CS:GO and Valorant sessions (which seems unusual since those games aren't particularly demanding).
Here are my specifications:
- Memory: Gigabyte B360 Aorus Gaming 3 (currently updated to F14)
- CPU: Intel i5-8400 (not overclocked)
- GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 OC 6GB (overclocked from the manufacturer)
- RAM: Two HyperX Fury 8GB modules at 2400Mhz, totaling 16GB (dual channel)
- Power Supply: EVGA 650W, model 100-N1-0650-L0
- Hard Drive: Seagate BarraCuda 3TB, 5400RPM
- Solid State Drive: SanDisk Plus 480GB
- Monitor: LG ultrawide 29", 60-75Mhz (default is 60, but can be adjusted to 75 in Nvidia control panel)
- Operating System: Windows 10 Pro (currently up to date)
The system is roughly 2 to 3 years old, except for the GPU, which was bought early this year. I've tried several fixes: reinstalling drivers, switching from Game Ready to Nvidia Studio, uninstalling and reinstalling drivers using DDU, running antivirus scans, and performing stress tests. Everything appears normal—temperatures are within range, and performance is stable during games.
I've also checked my BIOS and Windows updates, and everything seems up to date. It's possible the issue might be related to the power supply unit as well, though I'm not sure. I really appreciate any help in diagnosing this further or resolving the problem. Thanks!
It seems you're dealing with a possible problem related to your recent upgrade. The N1 EVGA series power supply might not be up to the task, especially with a more demanding GPU. This issue often stems from the PSU itself, as it can fail under increased load or trip protections when games start running. Restarts may occur frequently, and once the firmware is fixed, the culprits usually shift in this sequence: PSU, then GPU, then RAM, then MB, then CPU. The N1 unit appears to be a poor choice.
It seems you're likely experiencing a problem with your setup. Upgrading to a more demanding GPU has led to issues with the N1 EVGA power supply, which is of poor quality. This issue often stems from the power supply failing under increased load as games start, potentially causing it to trip or fail protection, leading to unexpected restarts or shutdowns. The most common causes, in order, are PSU, GPU, RAM, memory, and CPU. The N1 unit is particularly unreliable—avoid running a solid system on a low-quality PSU. (Refer to the discussion here: https://forums.
It's good to hear that. How can I actually verify if it's the PSU? I collected some data using HWInfo64, and during the restarts the whole PC was using about 260-300W. The PSU is rated at 650W, which seems unusual. Still, I'm not sure how reliable HWInfo64 is for this situation.
The overall power consumption isn’t related to it.
No matter how much power is drawn, it must maintain steady output with minimal fluctuations or noise. Low-quality PSUs are known for failing quickly or becoming unreliable.
Many of us on forums have experienced PSUs that handle more than double the recommended power and still fail or cause system issues.
The total wattage doesn’t matter much when quality is considered.
The only sure and precise method to test a PSU (without needing very advanced equipment) is by swapping it with a known working and high-quality unit and rechecking.
You might be able to observe the voltage on each rail while under load, though this is not very reliable and mainly shows obvious issues.