My two-year-old PC has been intermittently losing video output. Both monitors suddenly go black while the case fans spin at maximum speed. Sometimes audio continues, such as a YouTube video still playing, and the system usually requires a forced restart. It happens after roughly 30 minutes of gaming or randomly after several hours of browsing, and it happened even after replacing the power supply while watching YouTube.
I have already replaced the graphics card, reapplied the CPU thermal paste, cleaned the case and improved airflow, and replaced a 750W PSU with a new 850W Cooler Master unit. The system uses an MSI MS-7E26 motherboard, Ryzen 5 7600X, 16GB of RAM, and an RTX 5070. What should I test next to find the cause?
4 Answers
Monitor CPU and GPU temperatures while gaming with a hardware-monitoring tool. The fans ramping up could indicate a temperature or hardware-control failure, although the new GPU and fresh thermal paste make overheating less certain. Verify that the CPU cooler is mounted correctly and that the pump or fan is actually running; only consider a larger cooler if the temperature readings show the current one is insufficient.
Since replacing the PSU did not fix it, test the power path outside the PC too. Try a different wall outlet and, if possible, a different properly rated power cable. A bad outlet, loose plug, or failing cable can cause sudden loss of display and an apparent crash.
Start with Windows Event Viewer. Search for “Event Viewer,” open Windows Logs, and check the System log around the time of the failure. Event 6008 only confirms that the previous shutdown was unexpected; it usually does not identify the actual cause, so look for other errors immediately before it. Also check whether the problem occurs while sitting in the BIOS. If it does, Windows and its drivers are probably not the main issue.
Reseat every internal connection, especially the GPU power connectors, motherboard power plugs, RAM, storage cables, and the graphics card itself. A slightly loose connection can cause a momentary hardware failure that leaves the fans running at full speed. After that, run a memory test such as MemTest86. If the RAM passes, check the health of the system drive and make a backup before considering a Windows reinstall on another drive.
It usually happens after about 30 minutes of gaming or randomly after a few hours of browsing. The Event Viewer entry I found was Event 6008, saying the previous shutdown was unexpected.