PC loses display signal after about 90 minutes, but Windows may still be running
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MellowCedar42
For the past week, my PC has intermittently lost video output, and it has happened several times today. It can occur while gaming or while I'm simply browsing with music playing. The display suddenly goes black and the monitor reports that no HDMI signal is detected, even though the cable is still connected. When Spotify is open, it sometimes skips tracks around the same time.
The computer itself may still be running: on one occasion, I used Alt+F4 while the screen was black and heard another game start afterward. Turning the monitor off and on does not restore the picture, but manually restarting the PC does. I'm wondering whether the RTX 5070 is losing power or disconnecting, although it does not appear to be sagging. The GPU uses a 12VHPWR cable, but I'm not sure of the exact power supply model; I believe it is a 650W Pylon unit. I'm running Windows 11 with an NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready driver version 596.36, a Ryzen 5 5600, 32GB of DDR4 memory, and a 144Hz 4K monitor currently set to 1440p. Could this be a driver, cable, power supply, or graphics card problem?
Answers
Do a clean graphics-driver installation rather than just updating over the existing driver. You can use Display Driver Uninstaller in Safe Mode, then install a current NVIDIA driver. It’s also useful to check Windows Event Viewer and reliability history for display-driver or hardware errors. If the issue continues, temporarily lower the GPU power limit or clock speeds; if that stops the black screens, the GPU, power delivery, or PSU becomes more suspicious.
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The power supply is worth investigating, especially if it really is a 650W model and is using an adapter rather than a dedicated cable. Find the exact make and model printed on the PSU label. A marginal or faulty PSU can cause the GPU to stop outputting video while the rest of the system continues running. If you can, test with a good-quality unit that has enough capacity and a native GPU power cable.
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When it happens, check whether you can still hear audio, use keyboard shortcuts, or trigger Caps Lock. If Windows remains responsive, the problem is probably limited to the graphics driver, GPU, cable, or monitor rather than a full system freeze. Since the failure occurs both in games and during light use, don’t assume it is simply overheating; check GPU temperatures, hotspot temperature, and power readings while testing.
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Since the PC appears to keep running and the monitor loses signal, this sounds more like the GPU or display connection crashing than Windows shutting down. Try a different HDMI or DisplayPort cable, another port on the GPU, and—if possible—a different monitor. Also check that the 12VHPWR connector is fully inserted and not sharply bent near the plug.
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MellowCedar42: Turning the monitor off and on didn’t bring the picture back; only restarting the PC did. I’ll check the power connector and try another cable.