New
#1
Playing games crashes and restarts PC
Issue
When playing or installing game my system will fully crash, sometimes giving me a BSOD. This only happens with some games, and then only sometimes.
I've tested games like Apex Legends and Frostpunk, which only sometimes give a crash, and with Minecraft (Java), which has never crashed, even with intense graphics.
I've also had the system crash when installing games via the Epic Games Store or Steam, but never when installing programs via normal EXEs and MSIs. I've also never had the system crash under normal usage, like using the internet or updating Windows.
Overall the crashing is extremely inconsistent as well, I've been able to play games that crashed immediately in the past for up to 3 hours without a problem. Another thing is that this issue only started happening recently, after I reset Windows when I got this PC from a family member, who played various games on it without issue.
Solutions
I've tried the following:
- Looking in event viewer
I've been unable to find anything consistently logged before the crash, but some logs from game crashes have lead me to similar issues on the internet. There also may be things I'm overlooking in event viewer as well.
- Running CHKDSK
I ran CHKDSK and the utility found and corrected some errors, this didn't fix the issue.
- Running DISM and SFC
I ran both of these utilites, which, if I remember properly, fixed some errors, but didn't fix this issue.
- Updating/reinstalling video drivers
I tried updating to the latest versions of Nvidia's GameReady and Studio drivers via GeForce Experience, as well as reinstalling the drivers entirely via a standalone EXE, this didn't fix the issue.
- Disabling XMP
I toggled XMP for my memory and it didn't resolve the issue.
- Checking that my hardware can handle games
All the components are listed at the bottom of this post, but the CPU, GPU, and memory are all more than fast enough to run any game, and the power supply has more than enough wattage to run them. Nothing is overclocked or changed from recommended settings.
Theories
Myself and a few others have had some theories as to what may cause this issue, and may lead to it being resolved:
- Power issues
The power provided from my outlet is not enough to run the PC. I highly doubt that this is the cause of the issue, since I have run other powerful PCs just fine off of the same outlet. This also doesn't make sense, since games like Minecraft work, and downloading causes crashes.
- Issues related to certain game engines
My personal best guess is that some game engines interact with the drivers in a way that a game like Minecraft doesn't, since Minecraft isn't built off of a traditional engine like Unreal or Source. This doesn't explain crashing when downloading games however.
- Overheating
Somewhat related to the power theory, my PSU or other critical components are overheating and shutting down. I've tested the temperatures of my CPU and GPU, and both are well below the maximum temperature where they would shut down. However, I have to way to test the temperature of my power supply, which may be overheating without my knowledge.
System Specs
OS Windows 10 Pro 64bit | Build 19043.1110
CPU Ryzen 7 3700X | Stock clock
GPU EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER XC
RAM Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB | Tested with stock speed (2133Mhz) and XMP (3200Mhz)
Mobo Gigabyte X570 AORUS PRO WIFI
PSU Cooler Master MWE Gold 750 W 80+ Gold
SSD Corsair MP600 Force Series Gen4
Thanks for taking the time to read through this post, I'm willing to provide any information that may be relevant to fixing this issue :)