I've recently upgraded my cooling system with a Liquid Freezer 3 280mm Pro on my AM4 setup, and while the temperatures are great, I'm experiencing black screen crashes during gaming. The system restarts itself after a few seconds, and sometimes I can't turn it back on for around 10 minutes. I'm reasonably sure it's not a power problem; I have an 850W PSU from NZXT. I've experimented with different mounting pressures on the cooler, and I've tried both connecting it with three cables and just using one CPU header connection, but the crashes persist. Here are my specs: CPU - Ryzen 7 5800XT, Cooler - Arctic Liquid Freezer III 280mm Pro, RAM - 32GB total (4 x 8GB sticks), SSD - WD_BLACK 1TB, GPU - 5070 Founders Edition.
Interestingly, before the cooler upgrade, I had no issues with crashes using the RX 580 or even with the 5070 for a few days. Now, each crash is a complete blackout, sometimes recovering, but usually requiring a long wait before I can restart. I'm wondering if the motherboard might be damaged; could it be bending and causing these issues? I've reseated the CPU and RAM and tried adjusting mounting pressure, yet the crashes continue.
3 Answers
This is a common issue! When you installed the cooler, it's possible the CPU got reseated improperly. I suggest you remove the cooler and CPU, check for anything unusual like extra paste or bent pins, and clean everything up before reinstalling. It might also be wise to run HWiNFO64 while you test to monitor your temperatures and power usage; that way, you may catch the issue when it happens. Just a note—static electricity can potentially damage motherboards too, but that's not a likely cause here.
It sounds like you've done a lot already, but have you checked if the thermal paste is evenly applied? Sometimes, uneven application can create hot spots that lead to crashes. You might benefit from cleaning the CPU and reappling thermal paste. Also, running a thorough RAM test could pick up any potential issues with your memory.
Have you checked the Event Viewer in Windows? It might provide some clues about what's going on. Look for any errors around the time of the crash; those can help pinpoint the problem.
The most recent error I found is from 12/28/2025, related to TPM-WMI. It doesn't seem to be directly connected to the crashing issue.
How do I run a thorough RAM test?