PC shuts down unexpectedly during games, plus odd pauses in Discord?
PC shuts down unexpectedly during games, plus odd pauses in Discord?
Hello!
As the title may convey, I am faced by two separate issues that have been bothering me for a few months now, and may or may not be related. I'm at a loss as to what may be causing these issues, so I've decided to bring them up to you all in hopes of some guidance.
THE MAIN PROBLEM (PC Restarts)
I've been experiencing seemingly random, inconsistent restarts without warning while playing some GPU/CPU intensive videogames since March 2025. I've experienced it with games like Helldivers 2, Monster Hunter World, Monster Hunter Wilds, PEAK, Tekken 8 and Soulcalibur 6, although it does not always happen, as I sometimes am able to do multiple long sessions without any issue, only to later experience it when I least expect it.
Observations:
The "restart" consists of a sudden, instantaneous reboot of my PC. It straight up shuts down, monitors go black, then boots like normal (if not quicker than usual) and displays the Windows 10 login screen.
Event Viewer consistently displays a Kernel 41 (category 63) error when the restarts take place. Any other warnings or errors around it seem to vary.
Asking around, looking over reddit and so on, everything seemed to point at a dying or faulty PSU. The original 600w APEVIA had bad reputation, so at a friend's suggestion I purchased a BeQuiet Pure Power 12 PSU (specs below) and took the chance to swap my radiator fans and tidy up my cables while I was at it. Since then, I've yet to experience a crash on Monster Hunter World or Soulcalibur 6, but I am not entirely sure I am in the clear considering how inconsistent the restarts were prior to the PSU replacement.
The restarts only take place while playing games that are GPU/CPU intensive (except Soulcalibur 6).
On one occasion in October, the crash took place while playing Monster Hunter World and streaming it on discord for a friend. I crashed right in the Seliana Gathering Hub, not even mid-hunt, within minutes of loading up into the world.
It seemed (initially) the restarts would repeat if I attempted booting the same game, or a similarly intensive game, shortly after the restart.
The restarts don't always happen, and the time-frame varies.
Temperature readings on HWinfo, OCCT and GPU/CPU Software have all seemed normal with no deviation showing prior to the restart.
The Bonus Problem (Discord Freezes):
I'm adding this one, simply because it wasn't happening before I started experiencing the random restarts while gaming. I want to say I first experienced it in May or June 2025 while watching a movie on discord, which a friend was streaming. I've since experienced it on occasion, twice today (which prompted me to come here). I'm wondering if it may be a symptom of whatever the main problem is.
I'll be watching a stream on discord, where a friend is streaming their display or window, and suddenly the image will freeze and all audio will cut off.
My mouse will be able to move and click on things, but if the click results in a highlight I'll find that the highlight stays.
ALT+F4, CTRL+ALT+DEL and other go-to shortcuts will not respond.
Other windows will freeze as well, prompting me to hold down my power button to force a restart.
PC will be just fine after the restart, but I have been able to get the problem to repeat if I go to discord and join the stream again.
It only happens (in this fashion) with Discord.
It happens regardless of whether Hardware Acceleration is on or off.
What I have attempted so far across the board:
Monitored with Hwinfo, OCCT, CPU-Z for issues with temperature or voltage. So far, everything appears okay.
Replaced the old APEVIA Prestige Power ATX-PR600W for the BeQuiet PP12 1200W PSU
Cleaned up my PC interior and replaced 2 radiator fans (it wasn't particularly dirty)
Windows Memory Test - No Errors
Disk Check - No Errors
Scannow - Found some discrepancies, made no difference to the restarts
Updated "Communications Port COM1" and one "HID-compliant vendor-defined device" that had outdated drivers on Device Manager
Reliability History - Hardware Error that sometimes coincides with the Discord Freeze problem. It displays a Live Kernel Event, Code 144, Param 1: 3003
ANY suggestions, guidance, help or insight is welcome. I don't mind re-running tests. The only thing I'm on the fence about is updating my BIOS because I've never done it before, but I'll likely attempt it regardless. I am about to try to buy a new AM4 CPU to see if that's the cause of my problems, and I've already prepared a FAT32 USB with the BIOS update files.
COMPONENT
INFORMATION
NOTES
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 3800x 3.9 GHZ 8C/16T 36MB CACHE 105W
5yo | New Thermal Paste 02/2025
CPU COOLING
Asetek 670LS 240MM Gen6 Liquid CPU Cooling System
5yo | Re-seated 02/2025
AIO FANS
Phantex SK120 PWM 120MM 9-Blade 500-1500 Radiator Fans (x2)
2wo | Replaced with spares 10/2025
CASE FANS
Phantex SK120 PWM 120MM 9-Blade
2yo | Replaced with spare 09/2023
GPU
Gigabyte Geforce RTX 3070 EAGLE OC 8GB GDDR6
5yo | New Thermal Paste 02/2025
RAM
CORSAIR VENGEANCE RGB PRO SL 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 C16 DIMM (x2)
2yo | Installed 09/2023 | Replaced T-Force Delta 8GBx2
MOBO
Asrock B550M-ITX/AC Mini-ITX W/ WIFI RGB GBT LAN 1 PCIE X16 4 SATA3 1 M.2 SATA/PCIE
BIOS ver. 1.00 | Updating Soon?
PSU
BeQuiet Pure Power 12 M 1200W PSU 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.1
2wo | Installed 10/2025 | Replaced APEVIA 600W
DRIVE 1
WD Blue SN550 500GB Nvme M.2
5yo
DRIVE 2
Seagate Barracuda 120 2TB SSD
5yo | Installed 10/2020
DRIVE 3
Samsung 870 EVO 4TB SSD
2yo | Installed 09/2023
ACCESORY / PERIPHERAL
INFORMATION
MONITOR 1
ASUS TUF VG249
MONITOR 2
ASUS TUF VG249
KEYBOARD
Corsair K70 MK.2 Rapidfire Low Profile Mechanical Keyboard
MOUSE
Reddragon Impact M908
KVM SWITCH
VPFET VP-SW273 (alleged) 144hz DP KVM Switch 2Monitor 2Computers + 4 USB 3.0 Ports
USB HUB
WENTER 6-Port USB 3.0 Hub Splitter (4 Data + 2Pcs 36W QC Charging Ports) with Individual Power Supply Adapter
SPEAKERS
ARVICKA ARV-SP106 USB Computer Speaker
HEADSET RECEIVER
Steelseries Arctis 9 Receiver
SURGE PROTECTOR
APC Performance Surge Protector with USB Ports, P11U2, 11 Outlet Power Strip, 2880 Joule Surge Protection
Welcome to the forums, newcomer! I'm still unsure about updating my BIOS since I haven't done it before, but I plan to try. I intend to purchase a new AM4 CPU to check if that's the issue, and I've already made a FAT32 USB with the BIOS update files. That's what you should do, in my opinion. Ensure you have the latest chipset drivers for your motherboards (available from AMD's support site) before flashing the BIOS to version 3.90. I would be careful and suggest updating one BIOS at a time; jumping to the newest version could damage the board. Do you have access to a CH341A BIOS programming toolkit?
Hello! Thank you for reaching out about the old PSU. It was an APEVIA Prestige Power ATX-PR600W that came with the original build from Cyberpower. It kept running until I swapped it in two weeks ago.
I’m not very familiar with a CH341A BIOS programming toolkit, but I understand you’re considering updating it. There are around 15 different updates between versions 1.00 and 3.90. Would it be better to go through them one by one?
Get chipset drivers from here;
https://www.amd.com/en/support/downloads.../b550.html
A CH341A BIOS programmer toolkit is a resource you can use when the BIOS is damaged and you cannot restore it via the motherboard's BIOS recovery feature such as BIOS FlashBack (Asus), FlashBIOS (MSI) or Q-Flash Plus (Gigabyte).
You can refer to this guide;
View: https://youtu.be/DGcdu57THJE
to update the BIOS on your current motherboard. The process may vary depending on the board, but the basic steps stay consistent.
Check the toolkit first before updating your BIOS. It's a precaution in case something goes wrong.
I've paused my efforts at repairing my old desktop in favor of a complete upgrade. I'll keep the existing case and components safe while considering future options, but I don't want to waste too much time fixing it. As mentioned earlier, I swapped out the PSU for the BeQuiet Pure Power 12 M 1200W. Since this post was made, I've played the same games that used to crash, but I haven't had any issues with Discord. My main concern remains. This thread is about to close, thank you. I value the suggestions and will likely try updating the BIOS and cleaning up drivers again if I ever decide to use it again.