My newly purchased PC powers off completely after about five minutes of playing games. It has a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, B850M motherboard, 850W power supply, and Windows 11. It works normally for browsing and everyday tasks, but this has happened in three different games. I reseated the power cables to the PC and graphics card, and the temperatures appear normal—around 65°C for the CPU and 50°C for the GPU. Event Viewer only shows unexpected-shutdown entries such as Event ID 41 and 6008. What should I check to determine whether this is a power supply, cabling, BIOS, or hardware problem?
3 Answers
Event IDs 41 and 6008 mainly confirm that Windows lost power or shut down unexpectedly; they usually do not identify the failed component. Since the system only fails under gaming load, check that the GPU is fully seated and that the original power cables are connected securely. Also verify that the power supply is actually the included 850W unit and that no adapters or loose connections are being used.
You can check the BIOS for available firmware updates and confirm that the CPU and memory settings are stable, but avoid changing voltage settings randomly. Measuring voltage with a basic meter is not a very reliable way to diagnose a modern PC power supply under load. The safest next step is to test with a known-good PSU, or have the retailer test the system, especially since it is a new prebuilt.
The CPU voltage shown in the BIOS was around 1.1V, but I have not changed any voltage settings.
Normal CPU and GPU temperatures make overheating less likely, although it is still worth monitoring temperatures and fan behavior while gaming. A sudden total power-off under load is more suggestive of a faulty power supply, bad cable, motherboard issue, or unstable firmware than a normal Windows crash. Because the PC is only a week old, I would contact the seller and request a hardware diagnostic or replacement rather than opening it up extensively.
A power supply problem is what I am starting to suspect, so I am contacting the store where the PC was purchased.
It was supplied with an 850W PSU, and I believe the original cables are installed. I have already reseated the PC and GPU power connections.