My PC was completely stable for about six months, but it has recently started having display failures during gaming. At first, the screen would turn entirely gray and the cursor would disappear, requiring a forced shutdown. More recently, the display sometimes cuts out completely while the GPU fans suddenly spin up loudly.
The system uses an Intel Core i7-10700KF, ASUS TUF Gaming B560 motherboard, 64GB of DDR4 memory, an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT with an anti-sag bracket, and a 750W Corsair power supply. The GPU is connected with separate 8-pin PCIe cables rather than daisy-chained cables, and the system runs Windows 11.
So far, I have reinstalled the graphics drivers, disabled XMP and resizable BAR, capped the frame rate, reduced GPU power usage, and reseated both the graphics card and RAM. Could this be caused by the GPU, power supply, loose power connections, or even the motherboard? Is there a reliable software-based way to narrow down the cause before replacing hardware?
3 Answers
The motherboard is another possibility. Similar symptoms can come from a failing PCIe slot or motherboard power circuitry, and replacing the PSU does not always solve it. If a different PSU does not help, test the graphics card in another compatible system or try a known-good card in this one. That comparison should help separate a GPU problem from a motherboard problem.
The 750W supply may be operating with very little headroom, especially if the graphics card has large transient power spikes. A PSU protection event can cause the display to drop while the GPU fans ramp to maximum. Before buying anything, borrow a known-good 850W or higher-quality unit and test the system with it. The gray-screen behavior can also be GPU-related, so I would not rule out the card itself, but the power delivery is a sensible first check.
Inspect every PSU-to-GPU connection carefully before replacing components. Unplug the system, remove and firmly reconnect each cable at both ends, and check that the connectors are fully seated with no visible damage. A marginal connection can cause a sudden loss of display and make the GPU fans run at full speed. If the problem continues with secure cables, testing with a higher-capacity, known-good PSU—around 850W to 1000W—would be a useful next step.
The system worked normally for roughly six months before this started, so I was unsure whether the PSU could still be responsible. Does the gray screen point more toward the GPU, and is there any software test that could confirm the diagnosis?