Why does my PC randomly go to a black screen while gaming?
Asked by
MellowPine42
My monitor occasionally turns completely black while I'm playing games. It happens unpredictably, and I'm not sure whether the system is still running when it occurs. I checked Task Manager during gameplay, but GPU usage usually stays around 50%, so I'm wondering whether the graphics card is actually responsible and what diagnostics I should check.
Answers
GPU utilization being around 50% doesn’t rule out a graphics problem. A driver crash, overheating, unstable power, bad cable, monitor issue, or failing GPU can all cause a black screen without maxing out usage. Check Event Viewer immediately after rebooting and look under Windows Logs > System for display-driver, hardware, or power-related errors. Also try reinstalling the graphics driver, checking GPU and CPU temperatures, reseating the GPU and its power cables, and testing a different display cable or monitor.
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QuietMaple88: I found an event mentioning that SCEP certificate enrollment for the local system failed. That certificate error is usually unrelated to a gaming black screen, so I’d focus on display-driver, hardware, and unexpected-shutdown events instead.