Question Infrequent black screen reboot randomly during games, typically while loading in or returning to menus.

[tcb4]

So I noticed when changing GPUS (AMD 7770 -> Nvidia RTX 3060) that I get very infrequent, sudden black screen crashes which just results in an auto reboot. I've never had this issue before, but it is an old rig. This was pretty infrequent previously occurring once or twice (over the course of weeks) in Halo infinite but became much more consistent when playing Gears 5, especially when loading into a game of co-op (several times in the same session).

System Specs (circa 2014 or so): I7-4770, intel cooler (not overheating though, 75c max typically, hot spot), 16 gb of Kingston/Team ram (4 sticks), Asus Dual 3060, Seasonic M12ii EVO 620 watt, older Sandisk sata SSD (Extreme II 240gb), numerous HDDs, Older Asrock H97M pro 4 Mobo, Windows 10.

All I have done after the issue started is use DDU to clean up the AMD uninstall and uninstall the Nvidia drivers so I could reinstall them clean. I also checked PSU connections and found one that was not fully seated, but I believe it was just supplying the drives. I then opened gears and had no issues in a few times loading in and out of games as well as playing for a few minutes. Then I played BFV for a few hours combined and had one full crash/reboot when exiting to the menu. I have not had another since then in probably 5-6 hrs of cumulative game play.

Now I may be moving to AM4 w/ a good deal on a 5600x and am mulling over my PSU being the issue in this scenario. I know it is not an ideal PSU given it's an old design, but I would love to be able to use it for a little while on the next build to save some money. Any way I should verify this is a PSU issue (as opposed to CPU/MOBO)? It might be that it's crashing on transient load spikes, but I suppose that could still be a Mobo issue. Additionally it seems to have gotten better after driver reinstall, but it's not exactly easy to reproduce so that could be coincidental.

Should I just try and see if it works with new parts or would that be too risky? I don't have another PSU to test with and it is tough to reproduce, so it would likely take hours and hours of gameplay to notice if the issue resolved.

 

[Colif]

So I noticed when changing GPUS (AMD 7770 -> Nvidia RTX 3060)

do you mean you have 2 GPU in PC or that you swapped from the 7770 to a 3060?

I expect its the 2nd but I just thought I ask

How old is the PSU?

if you getting a new system better to get a new PSU. Mostly as newer GPU and everything seem to want more power these days.
Even some unplanned restarts would be enough to make me wonder. I find upgrading one part of a system can disturb the balance and make something else start playing up.

any usb devices playing up or turning off? What can happen is if PC is lacking power for CPU, it will turn off less essential things like USB and (as far as PC is concerned) Screen

 

[tcb4]

do you mean you have 2 GPU in PC or that you swapped from the 7770 to a 3060?

I expect its the 2nd but I just thought I ask

How old is the PSU?

if you getting a new system better to get a new PSU. Mostly as newer GPU and everything seem to want more power these days.
Even some unplanned restarts would be enough to make me wonder. I find upgrading one part of a system can disturb the balance and make something else start playing up.

any usb devices playing up or turning off? What can happen is if PC is lacking power for CPU, it will turn off less essential things like USB and (as far as PC is concerned) Screen

Thanks for the reply! Just the one GPU but I upgraded from a 7770 to a 3060 and noticed the issue. The PSU is from 2015 and so is most of the PC aside from the GPU which is obviously much newer. I think you're right that I should probably just bite the bullet and find a new PSU.