I recently tried playing Fortnite after not using it for a while, with most settings set to High. Shortly after jumping from the bus, CPU usage reached 100%, the game froze, the display went black, and the audio began repeating like the system had crashed. I have also been unable to overclock the CPU: both PBO and manual settings result in crashes or failure to boot. The memory is running at its rated 3200 MHz, which should be within the CPU's specifications. In OCCT, the processor uses around 75 W, while in Fortnite it uses closer to 60 W, even though I removed the BIOS power limit. Under a full CPU load, monitoring shows about 1.36 V across all cores and roughly 1.47 V during single-core boosting. Attempts to undervolt were only stable at around -0.012 to -0.018 V, and setting all cores to 4 GHz would not even post. Could the processor be degraded, or are the crashes more likely related to the graphics driver, motherboard, memory, or another component? My system has a Gigabyte B450 AORUS PRO, Ryzen 5 3500X, Wraith Prism cooler, 16 GB DDR4-3200 memory, Radeon RX 5600 XT, 512 GB SATA SSD, and a new 650 W power supply. The BIOS is updated to a stable version.
2 Answers
100% CPU usage by itself is not evidence that the processor is failing. The 3500X has six cores and six threads, so a game can easily saturate all available threads. Also, Ryzen's reported voltage changes depending on whether it is boosting one core or loading every core, so seeing a brief single-core value around 1.47 V is not automatically dangerous. Since a fixed 4 GHz setting will not post and even a small undervolt is unstable, test everything at completely stock settings first. Run separate CPU, memory, and GPU tests, check temperatures, and reset any PBO or manual voltage changes before concluding that the CPU is damaged.
The black screen with looping audio sounds at least as consistent with a graphics driver or GPU crash as with a defective CPU. Perform a clean Radeon driver installation, then test Fortnite with stock GPU settings and lower settings. Check Windows Event Viewer and Reliability Monitor for display-driver resets or hardware errors. If the problem continues, test the graphics card separately and run a memory test. Crash dumps can help identify whether Windows recorded a driver-related stop error.
It was not an actual blue screen—the display simply went black while the audio buzzed continuously. I have had separate Radeon driver problems before, although those appeared to be fixed.
I tried undervolting and could only reach roughly -0.012 to -0.018 V before the processor started reducing its clock speed. A fixed 4 GHz setting also failed to post, even though the system otherwise runs.