I'm running Windows 11 with an NVIDIA RTX 3060 OC 12GB graphics card and 16GB of DDR4-3200 memory. While playing TEKKEN 8, the computer began freezing during matches. At first, the freezes happened when exiting the game, but now the audio continues briefly before looping, the screen turns black, and the entire system crashes. After holding the power button to shut it down, the displays show no signal and the PC will not boot normally. Reseating the RAM and graphics card has been the only way I've found to get it running again, although I initially did that as a general troubleshooting step rather than because the components seemed loose. My NVIDIA drivers are current, and I already used DDU to remove and reinstall them. I've uploaded the event log from the last hour, but I'm not familiar enough with event logs to interpret it. Could this be a software or driver problem, or does the behavior point more toward unstable memory, a power issue, or failing hardware?
2 Answers
The fact that reseating the RAM or GPU restores booting makes a hardware, power, or memory-stability problem more likely than a normal graphics-driver crash. Shut the system down, unplug it, and test one RAM stick at a time in the motherboard’s recommended slot. Run MemTest86 or Windows Memory Diagnostic, check that the GPU power connector and PSU cables are firmly connected, and reset BIOS settings to default. If your processor has integrated graphics, remove the RTX 3060 temporarily and test from the motherboard’s display output. Also check CPU and GPU temperatures and, if possible, try a known-good power supply or graphics card. Back up important files before continuing to force shutdowns.
Unstable memory settings are another strong possibility. Disable XMP and Fast Boot in the BIOS and let the motherboard retrain the memory on the next startup; the first boot may take longer than usual. Then monitor the system with HWiNFO64 and test it at stock memory settings. If the crashes stop, the RAM profile or memory-controller settings were probably unstable rather than the NVIDIA driver itself.
I reseated those parts mainly as a last-resort attempt to get the machine to start again, not because I thought they were loose. The freezes also happened while returning from the game to the desktop, so I’m still wondering whether the event log shows a software or driver fault.