My gpu usage drops to 0% for 3-8 seconds and the game freezes

[KarasNB]

i just got a new MSI GeForce GTX 1660 TI VENTUS XS OC. on the 1st day of trying it out i had an issue that my gpu usage drops to 0% and the game freezes entirely for around 5 seconds. every 2 minutes.i tried installing an older driver which is 446.14 and it fixed it for a week and then the problem came back. but this time it happens much less frequently. 1 time every 1 hour. but it still bothers me because it was working perfectly before.

this is my specs
MSI GeForce GTX 1660 TI VENTUS XS OC
Intel core i5 3550 12gb ram
Gigabyte h61m-s2pt
500w psu

and this is what i tried so far
-prefere maximum performance in Nvidia control panel
-disabling windows gamedvr
-downgrading the drivers
-DDU and reinstall the drivers
-turning window's pci express link sate power management off
-upgrading motherboard's chipset
-emptying ram standby list
i pretty much tried everything i could find online but nothing seems to be fixing it. this happens in every game if it's gpu demanding or not

 

[Ralston18]

500w PSU noted.

Make, model, wattage (500), age, condition?

Heavily used for gaming, graphics work, bit-mining?

What games are you playing.

Look in Reliability History - likely there are some error codes and warnings that correspond with times of the game freezes. You can right-click on the any listed errors for more information.

May not be clear as to what is/has happened but may help identify potential causes.

 

[KarasNB]

500w PSU noted.

Make, model, wattage (500), age, condition?

Heavily used for gaming, graphics work, bit-mining?

What games are you playing.

Look in Reliability History - likely there are some error codes and warnings that correspond with times of the game freezes. You can right-click on the any listed errors for more information.

May not be clear as to what is/has happened but may help identify potential causes.

Hey . Thanks for the respond.
it's a zalman zm500-le . age: 4 years. as for the condition i would say it's good but i dont really know how to tell for sure. it ran a gtx 960 for 4 years without any problem like this.
heavily used for gaming. no graphics work or bit mining at all.
the games that i have been playing for the past couple of weeks are control/valorant/mortal shell beta/the surge 2. and for a game like valorant my old GPU ran it at the same 60 fps and the same settings without anything like this but now it freezes when the gpu usage drops to 0.
as for the reliability history i didn't find anything relevant.

 

[Ralston18]

My thought is that the PSU is a likely culprit. May be nearing its' designed EOL (End of Life) and starting to fail and falter.

One thing you can do is to power down, unplug, and open the case.

Clean out dust and debris.

Reseat all cables, cards, RAM, and jumpers so that all are fully and firmly in place.

Might provide some help/relief but the PSU is likely to need replacement.

Does the following link match your GPU?

https://www.diypc.com/components/vd...MIq6fw-anF6gIVDJyzCh1YXgRKEAQYASABEgISefD_BwE

Note the power requirements.....

The older PSU may no longer be able to "keep up" with the systems overall power demands.

 

[KarasNB]

My thought is that the PSU is a likely culprit. May be nearing its' designed EOL (End of Life) and starting to fail and falter.

One thing you can do is to power down, unplug, and open the case.

Clean out dust and debris.

Reseat all cables, cards, RAM, and jumpers so that all are fully and firmly in place.

Might provide some help/relief but the PSU is likely to need replacement.

Does the following link match your GPU?

https://www.diypc.com/components/vd...MIq6fw-anF6gIVDJyzCh1YXgRKEAQYASABEgISefD_BwE

Note the power requirements.....

The older PSU may no longer be able to "keep up" with the systems overall power demands.

this might be the case but is there a way to know for sure ? because my friend who has a 6 years old 400w psu is running the none TI version of the same gpu with no problems. i will try what you suggested for now. thanks for taking the time to help.

 

[Ralston18]

How to know for sure - that has a level of uncertainty involved.

There are some things you can do. For example if you have a multimeter and know how to use it (or know someone who does) then you can test your PSU a bit more.

Reference:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-manually-test-a-power-supply-with-a-multimeter-2626158

Not a full test because the PSU is not under load. But a voltage out of tolerances would be symptomatic.

As for the 6 year old 400 watt PSU that, to me would be an unusual occurrence. If the PSU was of good quality, not heavily used, and well treated - yes they can last longer.

If you compare almost any product made in the last couple of years to its' counterpart from 5-6 years ago the differences can be enlightening.....