Help! My PC Keeps Crashing When Gaming — Any Ideas?
Asked by
CuriousCat99
Hey everyone! I've been struggling with my PC crashing while gaming for about six months now. Here's a rundown of my setup:
- AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core Processor (3.70 GHz)
- 32GB RAM
- Windows 11 Pro
- B550 Aorus Elite V2 Motherboard
- NVidia GeForce RTX 3070Ti (8GB RAM) TUF Gaming
- 2 SSDs and 1 HDD
The crashes happen only during gaming, usually when the fans ramp up. My screen goes black with a "No Signal" message, but I can still hear my friends on Discord. I have to force shut down my PC to get it working again, but when I boot up, everything seems fine. I've had crashes with multiple games regardless of their visual fidelity:
- Hitman World Of Assassination
- Baldurs Gate 3
- Sleeping Dogs
- Kingdom Come Deliverance
- Death's Gambit: Afterlife (crashed at 4k, not in 1080p)
- Occasionally in Valorant
Interestingly, some demanding games like Elden Ring and Witcher 3 run without any issues. Recently, I swapped my Corsair PSU for a be quiet! PSU (from 750W to 850W) but that didn't solve the problem. I don't have a spare GPU to test, so I'm worried about upgrading without knowing if that's the real issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Answers
Sounds like a possible GPU driver issue. When the GPU is under load during gaming, it's likely crashing. Here's what you can do:
1. Check for TDR (Time Detection Recovery) errors using the Reliability Monitor. Look for LiveKernelEvent 141/117 around the time of your crashes.
2. Do a clean driver reinstall with DDU in Safe Mode, then install the latest NVIDIA driver.
3. Make sure you're using separate PCIe 8-pin cables for your GPU. No daisy-chaining!
4. To prevent black screen crashes, try setting a power limit to 90% or undervolting your GPU.
5. Test your setup with one monitor at a lower resolution, like 1080p, to rule out any monitor-related issues.
6. Use HWiNFO to log GPU temps and power right before a crash.
If you still have issues after these steps, your GPU might be failing. Good luck!
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I experienced something similar! Initially, I thought it might be the thermal paste or fan placement on my CPU. I ended up reseating the cooler and ensuring it had enough thermal paste. Might be worth checking your setup if you haven't done that! It helped me a bunch, so fingers crossed for you!
ChillGamer45: What CPU do you have? I think some TUF models have known issues with cooling.
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TechGuru1: I definitely think checking for TDR errors is a good start. Let me know if you find anything! Also, running a power limit on the GPU can help with stability.