They don't understand the reason behind the crashes.
They don't understand the reason behind the crashes.
Hello, your recent crashes with graphics errors suggest something beyond software problems. I’m wondering if your graphics card might be failing. It hasn’t shown any artifacts before, just sudden failures. Your GTX 2060 OC has been with you for about four years and has stayed cool most of the time—only reaching around 77°C at full load. However, it used to stay at 83°C during heavy use for two years. You mentioned similar issues in Valorant, Minecraft, and Fortnite, but now crashes only appear after a few minutes of gameplay and repeat every few minutes after restarting. Your system specs are solid: Intel i5-13600K, MSI B760i, 2x 8GB DDR4 3200mHz RAM, WD Black SN850X SSD, and a 500W quiet PSU. Could these factors be contributing to the instability? Please let me know if you have any clues or steps you’ve tried so far. Thanks!
Use MSI Afterburner to cap the power usage percentage, also known as TDP. Check whether this still resolves your problems. A 500W setup might work for an RTX 2060, but with a 13600kHz GPU and an older PSU, it could be insufficient.
Consider adding a TDP cap in the UEFI settings for your 13600kf. Aim for around 105W-120W, depending on what’s available. It might be wise to upgrade to a power supply in the 750W-850W range, as that’s typical peak usage in 2024. Best of all, test different configurations to see if you’re experiencing overdraw or voltage instability on the 12V rail when loads increase.
The PSU seems to be the main issue. Could the Asiahorse cable extensions affect power delivery? Plugging in many USB devices does seem to impact performance. The instability of the 12V rail is likely causing problems. Your gaming experience has definitely improved since we addressed it!
If your system stops working entirely, your power supply unit is likely overheating. If it just restarts, it might be a protection feature activating, such as OCP or OPP. It’s safer to replace it since 500W isn’t sufficient for a 13600K with a dedicated GPU. Custom cables can also cause problems, especially after extended use. Usually, they lead to restarts rather than full shutdowns. As before, use Afterburner or HWinfo64 to monitor GPU temperatures during stress tests in FurMark. There were cases with Asus RTX 3000 series GPUs where the memory chips weren’t fully covered by thermal pads and caused overheating.
It’s the most promising explanation yet, though it remains uncertain without another power source. Beyond obvious heat or hardware failures, it seems improbable given the recent CPU and motherboard upgrade you mentioned. I’m assuming the PSU is the limiting factor. Cable extensions might be the culprit—whether it’s the CPU EPS connectors, VGA aux power, or the 24-pin setup that feeds 12V to the GPU. Longer cables reduce voltage, and if your PSU struggles with a stable 12V line, extending it could worsen the issue. Before purchasing a new PSU, consider stripping all extensions; it’s a more likely cause than a power supply problem overall. At least this test is inexpensive.
The system stays on or restarts only during game crashes. I used FurMark which failed once, and temperatures look normal. (I increased the TDP to 100% for this test)
Thanks, I’ll attempt to remove the cable extensions. The MMO and CPU were upgraded about a year ago and everything worked smoothly until roughly two months ago—this seems unusual. I’ve also used the cable extensions throughout that period. All crashes appeared suddenly one day without a gradual buildup. Something important to mention is my custom PC case has a 3D-printed motherboard base that warped over time due to heat, pressing against the bottom of the MMO near the PCIe slot where the GPU sits. I’m not sure if this could be related.