My monitors randomly lose video signal while I'm playing certain games. The PC remains powered on, the game audio and Discord conversations continue through my headphones, but both DisplayPort monitors go to sleep and show "no signal." Afterward, my microphone also stops working in Discord. This only happens during some games, including CS:GO, CS2, World of Tanks, Payday 2, and Death Stranding, all launched through Steam.
The issue began after replacing an Asus RTX 3060 with a PowerColor RX 7800 XT Red Devil. I later switched again to a Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti, but the same problem continued. Both monitors are connected directly to the graphics card with DisplayPort cables, and my microphone uses a PreSonus audio interface.
I have updated the graphics and chipset drivers, increased the maximum frame latency, reinstalled Windows by wiping my SSD and HDD, and checked crash logs without finding an obvious cause. The problem happens unpredictably and I cannot reliably reproduce it.
System specifications:
- Windows 11
- AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
- Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti
- Asus ROG Strix B550-F motherboard
- 16 GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR4, 2x8 GB
- Samsung M.2 SSD
- Seagate hard drive
- Seasonic Focus GX-850 80 Plus Gold power supply, just under three years old
1 Answer
Because the issue followed you from an RX 7800 XT to an RTX 3060 Ti, the graphics card itself is less likely to be the problem. I’d focus on components both setups shared: the power supply, PCIe slot, or DisplayPort connection.
A power supply can sometimes struggle with brief GPU power spikes even when its rated wattage looks sufficient. Another possibility is a DisplayPort link dropping and failing to recover, which can make both monitors report no signal while the game and audio continue running.
Try using a single monitor over HDMI for several gaming sessions. If the problem disappears, investigate the DisplayPort cables, monitor inputs, and GPU port. If it still occurs, check Event Viewer around the failure time for Kernel-Power 41 or display-driver timeout events. Your Seasonic GX-850 should generally be adequate, but its exact condition and cabling are still worth checking.
I’ll test with HDMI. The power supply is a Seasonic Focus GX-850, 80 Plus Gold, and it’s just under three years old. With the RX 7800 XT I used two separate 8-pin PCIe cables rather than a daisy chain. The RTX 3060 Ti only needs one 8-pin connector.