Ryzen restarts when idle – issue resolved? (RMA)
Ryzen restarts when idle – issue resolved? (RMA)
I know there has been a lot of chatter about 3xxx and 5xxx (and maybe earlier) Ryzen systems rebooting at idle. Just browsing the web, listening to music, or just letting the PC sit - leads to the PC rebooting. This exhibits itself as: PC is at idle and the screen goes black, but the system still has power (not the PSU clamping) PC reboots and no real errors in Event Viewer beyond (the last shutdown was unexpected) It looks like most people seeing this are running PBO, even with stock PBO settings (just enabling PBO and leaving everything to Auto). The shutdown/reboots are not related to thermals (seen it happen @42c and lower die temps) and not due to memory instability. I can run Memtest for hours with no issues - and in fact - it never reboots under any substantial load like a Memtest, Cinebench, 3dMark or PCMark, etc. Only at idle. What I've found: It looks like the low power state is lowering the core voltages below stable minimums. It's normal for cores to go to 'sleep' and for voltages to drop to a fraction of a volt - but seems like it's being too aggressive. If I configure a + Offset for the CPU voltage (where it adds the specified offset voltage to the standard voltage), it seems to eliminate the issue. I'm still doing more testing to validate - but I was going insane with this issue previously, with reboots happening several times a day. I have +.03750 Offset now, that may be more than needed, I'm still trying different values. Also, this may raise your idle temps a bit. Mine went from 43-44 to 45-46. Has anyone who has experienced this issue found a workaround that resolve the issue for them? Thanks
Hi there! I'm your approachable astrophysicist and PC aficionado, here to clarify restart issues. Most often these happen after power cuts, especially when XMP is turned on. It usually signals a Kernel 41 error—power loss without warning. At higher clock speeds like 2133MHz, the system tends to reduce voltage during idle, which can trigger a restart without any other messages. Bios behave normally and safe mode rarely activates. The key seems to be memory throttling, which keeps power down settings active. Processors also struggle with low voltage, but this typically leads to a frozen screen instead of just a reboot. If you're dealing with this, cutting throttling should help. Let me know if you want more details!
Thanks for your response! I'll definitely explore this further. I hadn't considered memory settings before, and I focused more on CPU power when I saw my reboots stop after adjusting the voltage offset. XMP is usually active, but it didn't prevent restarts when disabled. I understand offsets aren't perfect, but they're better than constant interruptions. I'll check this out and share updates soon. Appreciate your help!
Yes, I've read also some cpu v-core increase via positive offset or increased LLC can also help with restart issues also. There seems to be a large grey are where people have the problem, but yet in google search never a definitive answer. Besides that we know it's a power issue and the motherboard doesn't like it. I have experienced this with 220ge and certain memory that would be installed. One set is Corsair Vengeance LED 3000 sticks. This set installed after my 3600mhz B-die took several attempts to post. Then it was a stability nightmare, mostly none of Cpu alterations seemed to make a great deal of difference. Realizing that setting XMP doesn't always work, I found timings that the board while on auto, sets incorrectly. Checking the SPD profiles in bios and manually inputting them seems to help quite a bit even with a memory voltage bump also. But Gear Down Mode, in accompany with manually setting up correctly the timings bios SPD states, seemed to help a great deal.
I restored my BIOS to the default settings and maintained a fairly simple configuration while applying your advice to turn off power-down mode in memory timings. I also turned on PBO (full auto) and set XMP manually for my G. Skill Z Neo 3600, as some of the automatic settings were inconsistent. It resolved the issue! No more unexpected shutdowns during low usage or idle. My PC is now functional again. Thank you for your help. I was really unhappy with the CPU voltage offset solution. Changing the power-down mode didn’t show any major drawbacks beyond a slight increase in power consumption, which isn’t a big concern for me. Since this wasn’t mentioned before, here’s what I have: 5950x Asus Crosshair VIII Dark Hero 850w Seasonic Prime GX-850 64gb G. Skill 3600 CAS16 EVGA 3080 XC3 Ultra. Appreciate your time and advice!
Here’s a revised version of your message:
In summary, the adjustment to stop memory power during low usage helped lower the frequency of shutdowns, but it didn’t fully resolve the issue. It’s been quite annoying because I can run memory and CPU tests without any problems for extended periods, but when the system is idle, the screen goes dark and it restarts unexpectedly with no errors in the event viewer. I’m frustrated about the sudden shutdowns, especially since they were surprising for both of us. Any extra advice would be greatly appreciated. I’ll keep sharing updates as I discover more. Thanks to everyone for supporting this community!
Recent update reflects findings from earlier troubleshooting. Idle restarts seemed linked to CPU instability under low power conditions. I now focus on analyzing Blue Screens and Event Viewer logs. Several WHEA warnings appeared without corresponding DMP files or entries in Event Viewer. This led me to suspect some reboots weren’t full shutdowns but WHEA faults that didn’t get recorded. I began tracking which APIC threads caused these errors, finding a consistent pattern: core 14 on CCX 1 was the most frequent source. Using Curve Optimizer with a positive curve offset helped reduce occurrences, though reboots persisted. Disabling Global C-State Control stopped the issue entirely, but it introduced drawbacks like higher idle power usage and reduced boost performance. This adjustment improved stability significantly, though I remain cautious about labeling it a permanent fix. The problem likely stems from hardware variability—higher-end CPUs with more cores are more prone to such issues at low voltage. Replacing the CPU resolved it for some users, but others continued to face similar challenges. I plan to pursue an RMA, but I’m wary of downtime given existing stock problems.