My PC was completely stable for about six months, but it has recently started having display-related crashes during gaming. At first, the screen would turn solid gray and the cursor would disappear, requiring a forced shutdown. Now the display sometimes cuts out entirely while the fans suddenly ramp 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, a 750W Corsair power supply, and Windows 11. The GPU is connected with separate PCIe power cables rather than daisy-chained cables.
So far, I've reinstalled the graphics drivers, disabled XMP and Resizable BAR, capped my frame rate, reduced GPU power usage, and reseated both the graphics card and RAM. Could this be caused by the power supply, a loose power connection, the GPU itself, or even the motherboard? Is there a reliable software test that could help identify the failing component before I start replacing parts?
3 Answers
A 750W unit may be close to the limit for this graphics card, especially when transient power spikes occur. A protection trip can cause the display to drop while the GPU fans jump to full speed. Before buying anything, check that every PSU-to-GPU connector is fully seated on both ends and inspect the cables for damage. If possible, testing with a known-good 850W or higher-quality unit would be a useful next step.
The motherboard is another possibility. I had nearly identical crashes and replacing the power supply did not solve them; changing the motherboard largely fixed the problem. If cable checks and testing with another PSU do not change anything, test the card in another system if possible and consider the motherboard, PCIe slot, and power delivery circuitry as potential causes.
Double-check the PCIe power plugs even if the cables appear connected. A slightly loose connection can cause unstable voltage under load and make the card shut down with its fans running at maximum. If reseating the cables does not help, trying a higher-capacity power supply—around 850W or 1000W—would provide more headroom before replacing the graphics card.
The system worked normally for roughly six months before this started, and I’m also seeing complete gray-screen crashes. Do those symptoms still point toward the GPU or power delivery, and is there a software-based way to confirm it?