My PC shuts down completely whenever I play games or otherwise put the system under heavy CPU and GPU load. It works normally for browsing and other light tasks. Event Viewer records Kernel-Power Event ID 41 after each shutdown, and the same sequence of errors appears before the crash. Temperatures look normal, so overheating does not seem to be the trigger. The system uses an Intel Core i5-12400F, Radeon RX 7600 XT, 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, a Biostar H610M-D5 motherboard, and a 1 TB NVMe SSD. Could the power supply be failing to handle transient or peak power demand, or should I investigate another component first?
3 Answers
Also rule out basic hardware instability: run separate CPU and GPU stress tests, test the RAM with a memory diagnostic, reseat the graphics card and power connectors, and update the motherboard BIOS and chipset drivers. If only combined CPU-and-GPU testing causes an immediate power loss, that points more toward the PSU or motherboard power delivery than an ordinary software crash.
Kernel-Power 41 only means Windows detected that the computer did not shut down cleanly; it is usually a symptom rather than the cause. Check the WHEA-Logger entries immediately before the shutdown and inspect their detailed data. A WHEA entry reporting an unrecoverable hardware error is more useful for narrowing this down. The Service Control Manager timeout may be unrelated noise unless it occurs consistently right before the crash.
Because the shutdown happens specifically when the CPU and GPU are drawing more power, the PSU is one of the strongest suspects, especially if it is old, low quality, or has loose or shared power connections. Test with a reputable known-good PSU of adequate wattage if possible, and make sure the GPU power cable is firmly connected. A PSU tester or replacement test is safer and more useful than relying on the Kernel-Power entry alone.
The WHEA entry reports an unrecoverable hardware error, while another event mentions a timeout from the Intel Platform License Manager service. I’m checking the full WHEA event details next.