My PC has started losing video output at random. While gaming, the screen suddenly goes black and the audio cuts out for a few seconds, then the audio returns while the monitor still acts as if the computer has been shut down. It can happen after several hours of gaming, but it has also happened shortly after startup while I was only in a game launcher. The system used to work reliably for years.
I have reinstalled Windows, reinstalled NVIDIA drivers, repasted the CPU and GPU, updated the BIOS, and run OCCT tests on the RAM, storage, PSU, CPU, and GPU without seeing a failure. Event Viewer also shows no useful crash information.
The system has a Ryzen 7 5800X, ASUS B550-Plus WiFi II motherboard, 32 GB of RAM, an RTX 2080 Super, a 750 W power supply, and water cooling. What would be the best way to identify whether the problem is the GPU, power supply, drivers, PCIe connection, or something else?
2 Answers
A failing GPU is still one of the more likely causes, even without visible artifacts. Black screens can come from unstable VRAM or the card crashing and stopping video output. If possible, test with another GPU, or test this card in another known-good system. You can also try a different display cable and a different output on the card, but a replacement-GPU test is much more useful than repeating stress tests.
The main areas to isolate are the GPU, its power delivery, the driver, and the PCIe connection. Use DDU in Safe Mode and install a known-stable NVIDIA driver rather than relying only on the normal installer. Make sure the GPU power plugs are fully seated and, if the power supply has separate PCIe cables, use separate cables instead of one daisy-chained lead. Reseat the card and try forcing the PCIe slot to Gen 3 in BIOS as a diagnostic step.
A PSU can pass a synthetic test and still have trouble with transient GPU loads, so swapping in a known-good unit is the best check. Windows Reliability Monitor and the Windows Live KernelEvent reports can sometimes show display-driver resets even when Event Viewer is empty. If the system stays running, Win+Ctrl+Shift+B may reset the graphics driver; if that restores the display, it points more strongly toward a driver or GPU failure.
I suspect the PSU might be involved, but OCCT has not reported any errors. The lack of useful crash logs is what makes this especially difficult to narrow down.
I haven't seen any artifacts, and the problem is so intermittent that testing it elsewhere would be difficult. It can work for hours or even several days before happening again.