I've been having a frustrating issue with my PC lately. A few days ago, I downloaded GTA V to play with some friends, and as soon as I started loading into the game, the screen went black and I had to restart my computer. Since then, I can't play any games without this happening. I can manage to play Minecraft, but if I turn on high framerate or shaders, the black screen issue returns.
I've tried adjusting settings in my Nvidia software and tinkering with MSI Afterburner. I also cleared out my OS drive since it was almost full, but none of that really helped. I believe the problem started with GTA V, but I'm not sure that's the only cause. I've even cleaned out the whole PC, so it's spotless inside, but the black screen keeps occurring. If anyone has any suggestions or potential fixes, I would greatly appreciate it. I'll include my specs below for reference:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core Processor (3.59 GHz)
- GPU: NVIDIA Geforce RTX 2060
- RAM: 32 GB
- 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
- Windows 11 Home
2 Answers
Have you checked the wattage of your power supply? Sometimes, if it's underpowered or getting old, it can cause issues like this during gaming. How many watts does your PSU provide?
You might want to take a look at the Event Viewer to see if any critical errors pop up when the black screen happens. Also, try reinstalling your Nvidia drivers; pick the custom installation option and check the box for a clean install. If that doesn't work, consider using Display Driver Uninstaller in safe mode to wipe all GPU drivers and then reinstall them.
I checked the Event Viewer, but the only critical error says, 'The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first.' I think that’s just a result of the forced restarts. I did just reinstall the Nvidia drivers, so I'm going to see if that helps.
My power supply is 500W 80 Plus Bronze, and I got my PC in December 2020, so it’s over 5 years old.