My PC has been freezing or crashing during games, usually after about 10–15 minutes, although sometimes it happens sooner or later. The system has 32GB of RAM installed as two 16GB sticks, and the GPU is only a few months old. During a stress test, temperatures stayed below 80°C. What should I check to determine whether the problem is caused by the graphics card, memory, power supply, drivers, or something else? My hardware is an Intel Core i5-10400F, Gigabyte B460 HD3 motherboard, PNY GeForce RTX 5060 OC, and 32GB of RAM.
3 Answers
The stress-test CSV would be more useful with the exact test used and the crash behavior. Try monitoring CPU and GPU temperatures, clock speeds, hotspot temperature, and power draw while gaming. If only the game closes, suspect drivers or the game installation; if the entire system freezes or restarts, test the PSU, remove any overclock or undervolt, and check whether the issue happens in multiple games.
A GPU temperature under 80°C is a good sign, but it does not completely rule out a graphics, power, or driver problem. Check Windows Event Viewer and Reliability Monitor immediately after a crash, then reinstall the graphics driver with a clean installation. Also make sure the motherboard BIOS and chipset drivers are current. If the PC completely powers off or instantly reboots, pay particular attention to the power supply and its cables.
Test the memory separately rather than assuming the new RAM is fine. Run MemTest86 or Windows Memory Diagnostic for several passes, and try gaming with one stick installed at a time. Also verify that the modules are seated correctly and temporarily disable XMP in the BIOS. A marginal memory setting can cause crashes even when temperatures look normal.
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