Computer screen goes back immediately when gaming. Sound still plays and I can still interact.

[Tommy Pechey]

Issue: When I run FurMark, load into a DotA 2 map, or play other demanding games like total war, as soon as i exit the menu screen both of my screens will go black and detect no input. In some circumstances I will be able to hear and interact with the game / discord etc. In others I will have an immediate restart. There are stages of the issue.
1. It will crash infrequently, maybe once / day
2. It will crash regularly, once an hour, maybe 40 minutes into playing a game
3. It will crash as soon as i load into a game (past the menu).
I fixed it once by unplugging everything, cleaning everything, re-applying thermal paste to my 2 year old gpu, cleaning out my psu. My CPU and motherboard are a month old so I didn't re-apply the month old thermal paste. This only started a few weeks after upgrading my CPU and MB. I underclocked my memory and my gpu and reduced the power cap going to the gpu and it worked for a couple of weeks until the cycle repeated again.
My temps are ok, no higher than 40 on my CPU and my GPU goes from 36 --> dead so it's hard to measure, but when it did work the temps were fine, under 60.
I am completely stumped. I have reinstalled all drivers and done anything I could think of. Please help.

Specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 1600x
GPU: GTX 970
RAM: 8GB 1866 Mhz
STORAGE: samsung 850 SSD, 1TB WD
Motherboard: MSI B350-M
Case: Zalman z11
PSU: Corsair CX500W

 

[DRagor]

PSU or GPU. If you can test the problem with another PSU, I would do so. If you can't - well it's just pure guessing which one is nearing its end. But if PSU is at least 3 years old, I would rather bet on it.

 

[Tommy Pechey]

PSU or GPU. If you can test the problem with another PSU, I would do so. If you can't - well it's just pure guessing which one is nearing its end. But if PSU is at least 3 years old, I would rather bet on it.

I have no spare parts to test it with, but considering I bought my PSU 4 years ago is that the most likely cause? My GPU is only 2 years old and I don't expect it to just suddenly cut out now. What PSU would you recommend?

 

[DRagor]

Considering its age, it has to be old CX model (with green label). Those models were not great in terms of quality, so it is quite possible to be the cause of your problem.
As for recommendation, that depends on budget and where you buy.

 

[Tommy Pechey]

Considering its age, it has to be old CX model (with green label). Those models were not great in terms of quality, so it is quite possible to be the cause of your problem.
As for recommendation, that depends on budget and where you buy.

What will last the longest. I don't play too many intensive games, so I just want a reliable PSU which can handle my current specs (maybe i'll upgrade ram in the future).

Other people have said that hearing sound after the black screen is an indication that it's the GPU at fault.

 

[DRagor]

Other people have said that hearing sound after the black screen is an indication that it's the GPU at fault.

Yes, but this can be caused also by GPU 'shutting down' because PSU is not supplying enough power.

If you want something that will last really long without problems, go for Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 550.

 

[Tommy Pechey]

Yes, but this can be caused also by GPU 'shutting down' because PSU is not supplying enough power.

If you want something that will last really long without problems, go for Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 550.[/quotemsg]

Would the 'Corsair 550 W RM550x Series 80 PLUS Gold Full Modular ATX Power Supply Unit - Black' suffice? It has a 10 year warranty which is more than enough and I can get it by tomorrow. Thanks for your help by the way

 

[DRagor]

Yes, RMx line is also excellent quality and very quiet.