I bought a new prebuilt PC that arrived yesterday. It worked normally at first, but this morning Windows felt sluggish and my mouse became choppy whenever the system was loading something. When I launched Path of Exile 2, the game was extremely laggy for about 10–15 seconds, and then the computer restarted without showing a blue screen. It has been working normally since.
Should I investigate this now, or is it reasonable to monitor the PC and only take action if it happens again?
2 Answers
I wouldn’t panic over a single incident, but I also wouldn’t completely ignore it on a brand-new prebuilt. Check Event Viewer under Windows Logs → System and look at the entries immediately before and after the restart. Kernel-Power 41 indicates that Windows detected an unexpected shutdown, but it doesn’t identify the cause by itself. WHEA or BugCheck 1001 entries would be more useful.
It’s also worth checking CPU and GPU temperatures, confirming that there isn’t an unstable overclock or memory profile enabled, and watching whether the problem returns during gaming. If it happens again—particularly under load—contact the seller while the system is still covered by its return or warranty period rather than replacing parts yourself.
The safest approach is to check it now and monitor it for the next few days. Event 41 confirms that the restart was unexpected, while event 6008 records an improper shutdown; neither one necessarily proves that a specific component is defective. The warnings immediately before the restart are usually more informative than unrelated yellow entries from earlier in the boot process.
If the PC remains stable, it may have been a one-time Windows or driver hiccup. However, another sudden restart—especially when launching a game—could point to a power supply, memory, driver, or hardware stability problem. Since it’s new, report a repeat failure to the seller promptly so you preserve your warranty options.
The temperatures look normal when the computer is behaving. Event Viewer has several warnings, including 10016 and 1014, followed by events 153, 6008, 162, Kernel-Power 41, and 1001. I wasn’t sure which ones mattered because there are so many information entries mixed in.