My PC has started crashing during several games, especially Valorant. It originally only closed occasionally, but the problem has become more frequent. Now, after Valorant crashes, reopening it can sometimes make the entire computer shut down or restart. Watch Dogs and PUBG have also crashed, while Roblox runs normally. Valorant launches and allows me to join a match without issues, but after roughly 10–20 minutes of playing, it crashes. The failures vary from the game closing, to a black screen, to a full system restart or shutdown. I've taken the computer to a repair shop four times. They upgraded the cooling system and added RAM during the first visit, which helped for a week or two. They later reset or reinstalled the computer, with the same temporary result. I've also tried various troubleshooting guides without finding a permanent fix. Could the cause be the graphics card, drivers, power supply, RAM, motherboard, Windows, overheating, or another component?
3 Answers
A failing or inadequate power supply is one possibility, especially because the computer sometimes loses power or restarts instead of showing a normal error. A PSU can behave normally at idle and fail when the GPU and CPU draw more power during a game. The best way to test this is with a known-good, reputable replacement PSU that has enough capacity for your exact hardware. Don’t rely only on the wattage number; quality and the required GPU power connectors matter too. GPU instability can produce similar symptoms, so a proper GPU stress test and temperature monitoring would also be useful. RAM should be tested separately with a dedicated memory test. If the PSU is cutting out, there may be no useful log entry at all.
Since reinstalling Windows and adding cooling only helped temporarily, avoid assuming that software is the root cause. Test one hardware category at a time: run a memory test, check storage health, monitor temperatures and GPU stability, and try a known-good PSU. Keep the repair invoices and a dated record of each failure and repair, since repeated unsuccessful repairs may be relevant when discussing the issue with the shop.
Check Windows Event Viewer immediately after the next crash. Look under Windows Logs and System, and note the exact time and error codes. A critical Kernel-Power entry can confirm that the system shut down unexpectedly, although it usually does not identify the failed component by itself. Display-driver, WHEA, disk, or memory-related errors near the same time may provide more clues. Also record CPU and GPU temperatures while gaming so overheating can be ruled in or out.
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