The GPU suddenly stopped producing any video output.
The GPU suddenly stopped producing any video output.
your setup includes an RTX 3080, an i9-11900k processor, and 32GB RAM. occasionally, when idle, your PC freezes with a black screen, monitors entering sleep mode, yet you can still hear Discord or YouTube. This issue began about two months ago and fluctuates. It affects gaming performance one day and then none at all. Someone, can you help figure out the cause?
Have you checked the Windows Event Log? Open Event Viewer, go to Windows Logs, scroll down to the section for system issues, and look at the most recent entry when the screen went dark. A black screen with sound still playing usually indicates a driver problem. Nvidia drivers often recover after crashes, but full recovery is rare. If logs show the display driver stopped responding yet managed to restart, it points to a driver, temporary, GPU, or power supply issue. Install HWInfo to monitor your GPU’s core, VRAM, and temperature. Also, verify if the GPU fans are operating correctly—dust buildup can cause failures. High temperatures (over 90°C or 100°C) with functioning fans may signal dried thermal paste needing replacement. GPUs tend to throttle to protect temps, but a black screen crash is frequent. If the issue stems from a driver, use DDU to clear traces and reinstall. For software concerns, remove any recent CPU or GPU updates and test with default settings. Make sure your motherboard BIOS is up to date. Try connecting the graphics card to a different port if possible—it’s uncommon but worth checking. If problems persist, another PC might help isolate the problem. If you’re using a 3080 in another system and it keeps crashing, you likely have the root cause.
I checked the event log but didn’t find any driver entries. The GPU remains steady between 50-70 while games run, and I tried DDU to see if it helps.