Only in Diablo 4 is Kernel Power available.
Only in Diablo 4 is Kernel Power available.
Hello, I've been testing my current setup for about a year and a half, playing a variety of games—many demanding a lot of power. My configuration includes: PSU at 850W Gold Seasonic (exact model unclear), CPU from AMD 5900X, 3090 graphics card, MSI X570 motherboard, 32GB RAM at 3000MHz split into four 8GB modules, and NVMe storage with Samsung 970 Evo drives. I use Samsung NVME 970 Evo 2 TO and a Samsung SATA SSD for 860GB. Windows 11 is installed. My CPU isn’t overclocked anymore (it was lightly tweaked with Ryzen Master), and it’s cooled with a Noctua NH15, keeping all cores at consistent temps during load. I’ve replaced the GPU’s thermal pads because the AM4 cooling solution isn’t performing well; the paste job was done more than a year ago without any problems. The GPU doesn’t have overclock protection enabled.
When playing Diablo 4, I experience crashes every 1–2 hours with noticeable flickering. I’ve checked the event logs and only found critical errors like “Kernel power.” No BSOD appears—either the system restarts itself or my monitors briefly show red/blue shapes before shutting down. I run Diablo at 60 FPS 1440p, which is well within my system’s capacity. I’ve performed a GPU stress test with Furmark for 20 minutes without issues, and I’m currently running it longer to see if it causes problems.
Recent CPU benchmarks show normal performance, including a clean memtest86 run and a successful first step of MemTest86. I’m planning to run a 3DMark stress test for two hours tonight to assess stability. My concern is that the motherboard might be the issue, as any hardware faults could lead to unpredictable behavior. The symptoms seem consistent even when I don’t push the system too hard.
Could you suggest additional tests? Thanks for your support.
Edit: I just completed a full 3DMark stress test (20 loops of time spy); temperatures are elevated due to my location, but the system remained stable overall.
Kernel Power 41 doesn't offer much value—it mainly indicates the system failed to power off correctly via the shutdown option in Windows. Frequent unexpected restarts usually stem from a faulty PSU or overheating issues. If this isn't the case, it's frustrating since the problem could be anything else.
It's possible a software problem could lead to a kernel 41 crash, but it wouldn't be free of cost.
Kernel-Power poses challenges due to multiple potential causes. I question whether the game installation is responsible. If your computer only initiates this process while Diablo IV is active, then I recommend: removing the game. Obtain the newest GPU driver from Nvidia's website. Use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU). Navigate to Advanced Systems Settings and uncheck the option that automatically searches for drivers/updates, etc. Restart in Safe Mode. Execute DDU and choose 'clean and DO NOT SHUT DOWN' (similar to that). DDU will indicate completion once it removes old driver files from your system. Power off your PC. Restart it again. Install the display driver—whether you choose express or custom installation, a clean setup is ideal since no outdated drivers remain. Power off and restart once more. Reinstall Diablo IV. I initially thought this, but the main goal is to prevent Windows from attempting a display driver update over the network. Another approach is to disconnect your PC from the internet before rebooting after clearing the display driver files. However, as another person mentioned, this issue is probably due to a power supply problem...
Curious , does the shutdown occur when you go back to town ? I started having the issue ever since I switched to Windows 11... Really sucks. Game worked fine on windows 10, but the minute I switched OS it started to shutdown pretty frequently when using a town portal. Doesn't seem to be overheating considering I've sometimes had it at the start of the session, like the very first time I make a TP, although usually it occurs once every 4-5 hours on average. No overclocking either, and the PC never really had any trouble with games before, it only started when I switched OS... At first I thought it was an amd video card driver issue, as Windows 11 kept reinstalling crappy outdated drivers on top of my brand new Amd Adrenal downloads, causing tons of problems, but now I've seemed to manage to kill automatic third party downloads and so far it stays on the latest official AMD drivers. Tried most of the methods on the net to try and fix issue, like running system verifications for corrupted files and the like. What also doesn't help is that i'm stuck in the experimental canary branch of Windows 11, so maybe that's also the culprit (opted out of the program, hopefully I'll be able to get back to the normal version of Win 11 sooner than later. So yeah, not blaming windows 11, but yeah , clearly blaming windows 11 !!!
Ensure your video card is correctly placed in the slot and consider using a GPU bracket to keep it aligned. The graphics shouldn’t be tilted while installed. I experienced various boot issues with my RX-6700 XT AMD card on Windows 10, and current graphics cards are too large without a bracket. It’s unclear if this will resolve your problem, but it worked for me.