I'm a newbie to PC gaming and built my first setup a little while ago. I've been having some serious issues recently that I need help with. My PC, which has a 7800X3D CPU, an RTX 5070 ti GPU, an 850W PSU, and an MSI B850 motherboard, was running like a dream until a few days ago. While playing Hogwarts Legacy, it shut down completely during some big save moments. After that, I disabled several startup apps thinking I might be overloading it. Now, both Hogwarts Legacy and Megabonk crash to the desktop within 30-60 seconds of launching, while other games like Destiny 2 and Silksong run perfectly with no problems. I've done several troubleshooting steps including reinstalling drivers, deleting game files, and even reinstalling Windows. I've run stress tests on CPU, RAM, and GPU with no errors, and temperatures seem normal. There are suggestions floating around that it could be related to Unreal Engine or a Windows update, but I'm unsure how to pinpoint whether this is a hardware issue or just something with the software. I have until the end of January to return any parts if something's faulty, so I'd really appreciate some insight!
2 Answers
It sounds like you've done a lot of troubleshooting already, which is great! Since your stress tests run fine and there are no overheating issues, it does seem like the crashes are confined to specific games. I recommend checking your Windows event log for any error messages around the time of the crashes; those can provide clues. Look for entries that mention ntdll.dll, as those can often indicate a problem with the software or game engine itself. It sounds frustrating, but if everything else runs smoothly, it might just be a game-specific issue rather than hardware. Hang in there!
You mentioned your PSU is a Montech Century II, and while you've done stress testing, the power supply could still be an issue. Not all PSUs are created equal, and sometimes they can't handle peak loads even if they seem fine under regular tests. Have you tried rolling back your graphics drivers? Sometimes newer drivers can cause compatibility issues with certain games. Also, check if your RAM's EXPO profile is stable, as sometimes enabling it can lead to instability if the settings aren't quite right.
I did a DDU and started fresh with the latest driver, but I’ll definitely look into rolling back. As for the EXPO settings, I'm not too familiar; could it really make a difference in stability?
Thanks for the tip! I checked the event log and that ntdll.dll error keeps popping up. Do you think that's a dead giveaway for an engine issue?