I've had this PC for about six years. It has an RTX 3070 Ti, an Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM, and 2 TB of storage, with an additional drive added a few years ago. I mainly use it for gaming, and it has handled demanding games such as Elden Ring and Forza without trouble.
After leaving it unused for six days, it began having serious problems. When I start it and launch a game, everything works normally for roughly two minutes. Then the screen freezes, I hear a loud buzzing sound through my headset, and the PC shuts down. After restarting, it either crashes again or performs very poorly.
For example, Apex Legends used to run around 200 FPS on high settings. Now, even with everything set to low, it runs at about 50 FPS and can drop to 20 FPS during fights or when moving the camera quickly. I've scanned for malware, freed up storage so only about 400 GB of the 2 TB is used, and updated the graphics drivers. I'm wondering whether the graphics card is failing, but I'd prefer to avoid paying for a professional diagnosis or replacing parts unnecessarily. What should I test first?
5 Answers
If the hardware tests look normal, back up your important files and try a clean Windows installation. Software corruption or a bad driver can cause crashes and poor performance, although I’d check temperatures and hardware stability before wiping the system.
Start by checking temperatures while gaming and during a stress test. A clogged heatsink, failing fan, dried thermal paste, or degraded thermal pads can cause the system to freeze or shut down under load. Open the case, clean out dust, and make sure every fan is spinning. If cleaning improves things, overheating was probably involved.
Run a proper hardware stability test while monitoring temperatures, clocks, and power readings. Test the CPU, GPU, memory, and especially the combined power load separately if possible. Sudden shutdowns and a major performance drop can also come from a failing power supply or motherboard, not just the graphics card.
The exact i7 model matters too. Some processor generations have known degradation issues, so identifying the CPU and checking whether it is overheating or losing stability would help narrow this down.
Don’t assume the GPU is simply too old. A 3070 Ti should still perform well, and a sudden change is more likely to be caused by overheating, a fan or power problem, a motherboard issue, or hardware throttling. Check whether the card is detected correctly and whether its clock speeds are dropping sharply during gameplay.
Try isolating the graphics card. If your processor has integrated graphics, connect the monitor to the motherboard video output and run the system without using the RTX card. Gaming performance will be poor, but if the computer becomes stable, that points toward the GPU, its power connection, or the power supply rather than Windows.
I had a similar problem and simply cleaning the inside of the case made the crashes stop, so temperatures are definitely worth checking first.