Unstable performance during gameplay. System crashed unexpectedly.
Unstable performance during gameplay. System crashed unexpectedly.
I haven't played other games lately, but it seems this only happens in Valorant. After using a multiplayer lobby for 5-10 minutes (though it doesn't always crash in singleplayer), my monitor would just go black while the fans kept spinning—RGB stayed on. Until I manually restarted or waited a long time, my PC would restart on its own. I'm unsure what's causing this. I thought my Windows was corrupted because I experienced input lag after gaming for about three hours. I tried reinstalling Windows, replaced the hard drive, and had someone install Windows 10, but that didn't fix it. I also moved Valorant to different drives to check if the issue was there, adjusted drivers for GPU, CPU, and motherboard, and even changed RAM. I swapped out my RAM temporarily, thinking it might be the problem, but it returned after a day. Then I tried running the 8GB stick with one 4GB at 2900Mhz on CL-20 for half a day. The problem came back again. Because of this, I believe the issue is related to memory. Right now, I don't have the budget to buy more RAM, especially since used RAM isn't available in Indonesia. I also changed the page file settings and saw a BSOD with an error code, which slightly reduced input lag in Valorant. It seems the crash happened faster than usual, though I didn't measure it. My system specs: PSU EVGA Bronze 450W, GPU GTX 970, Strix monitor, R5 3600 CPU, MSI B350-M Pro-VDH RAM (2x4GB CL-16 + 1x8GB CL-22), plus an NVMe SSD for games and a new HDD for Windows. I've been using this setup for about six years without any issues except this one. I'm really struggling to keep up with ranked play.
The pagefile mechanism moves RAM to disk for storage, which is slower even with an SSD. There are two scenarios where the system uses the pagefile: when files aren't critical but accessed frequently, and when RAM capacity runs out. If insufficient RAM is available while using the pagefile, it may lead to crashes or BOSD. To test for power issues, try running games at reduced FPS or using VSync with lower settings. Does Valorant cause black screen crashes on PC as well?
I understand a lot of this, but it became really tricky when I tried setting up Windows on the SSD. The main issue was that it was super finicky. Also, Valorant runs slower when I run it from the HDD compared to the SSD, though I usually prefer the SSD for performance. Another challenge was that both USBs I used to format memtest didn’t work properly—same problem as with trying to use them as a media drive. It seems both devices had problems, and since I don’t have any left, I might need to order more.
So far it hasn't crashed when limiting it to 186 from 328, but if it works out I'm amazed by how much of a difference that is in FPS. It does make sense, I've been using this PSU for six years now and it barely reaches the 970 rating in perfect condition—let alone its likely reduced efficiency now. I'll keep testing and updating if anything changes.
If your GPU is working well and your PSU is six years old, it might be a PSU issue.