Question Random Crashing When Gaming

Apr 30, 2024
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I havent been playing other games recently but for all I know is this crashing only happens in valorant. After playing in a multiplayer lobby (it doesnt consistently crash in singleplayer lobbies) for about 5-10 minutes (it varies), my monitor will just suddenly go black but the fans of the PC and GPU will still spin (RGB is also still on). Until I manually restart or wait for an indefinite amount of time (sometimes immediately after the screen goes black, sometimes after 30 minutes) my PC will restart automatically.
I dont know whats causing this issue. I thought my windows was corrupted as I was having input lag issues after gaming for around 3 hours and so i tried reinstalling windows to no avail and so i bought a new HDD and had someone install windows 10 on it for me. I then also moved Valorant over to different drives to see if that was the problem, ive tinkered with drivers for my GPU, CPU, and motherboard. I've tried switching out my ram as it seemed like that was the issue (and I still think that its probably the ram). I have 2 sticks of 4GB 2400Mhz CL-16 that Ive been using alongside a single 8GB 3200Mhz CL-22 (seems to run fine at CL-16 at around 2800Mhz), for the past 3ish years with almost no problems.
I managed to fix the problem by switching out the memory and running only the 8GB stick but then after a day the problem came back. Then I ran the 8GB stick and 1 of the 4GB sticks at 2900Mhz at CL-20 for around half a day before the problem came back again. Because of this I assume the issue is memory related and as of current I dont have the budget to go out and buy spare ram sticks (also because in Indonesia no one sells used RAM for anything less than retail new price) to test out if this is really the issue or not. I also tried changing the page file manually as amidst all this testing I managed to get a BSOD with error code fault in page file or something along those lines. This noticeably decreased input lag in valorant for some reason but if anything caused the crashing to happen what seemed to me to be faster than usual tho I didnt measure it.

My System:
PSU: EVGA Bronze 450W
GPU: GTX 970 Strix (I tried underclocking the GPU and CPU to see if it was a power related problem but it persisted so I dont think its that either)
CPU: R5 3600
Mobo: MSI B350-M Pro-VDH
RAM: TeamGroup Elite+ (2x4GB 2400Mhz CL-16) + TeamGroup Elite+ Red (1x8GB 3200Mhz CL-22)
I run 1 NVME SSD for games and a new Seagate Barracuda HDD for Windows
Ive been using this system for around 6 years now with no problem as bad as this one, I upgraded the initial 2x4GB with the 1x8GB around 3+ years ago and ive never really had any issues I havent been able to resolve on my own
Any help would be greatly appreciated, im going insane not able to grind ranked
 
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

PSU: EVGA Bronze 450W
How old is the PSU in your build? 6 Years?

RAM: TeamGroup Elite+ (2x4GB 2400Mhz CL-16) + TeamGroup Elite+ Red (1x8GB 3200Mhz CL-22)
Stop mixing and matching rams and work with one kit, while they're populating slots A1 and B2. To also add you're not getting the most out of your build with either of those rams. Ryzen 3000 series processor like DDR4-3200MHz or DDR4-3600MHz dual channel ram kits.

Mobo: MSI B350-M Pro-VDH
BIOS version for your motherboard?
 
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

PSU: EVGA Bronze 450W
How old is the PSU in your build? 6 Years?

RAM: TeamGroup Elite+ (2x4GB 2400Mhz CL-16) + TeamGroup Elite+ Red (1x8GB 3200Mhz CL-22)
Stop mixing and matching rams and work with one kit, while they're populating slots A1 and B2. To also add you're not getting the most out of your build with either of those rams. Ryzen 3000 series processor like DDR4-3200MHz or DDR4-3600MHz dual channel ram kits.

Mobo: MSI B350-M Pro-VDH
BIOS version for your motherboard?
yes Ive had this pc for around 6 years and I havent changed the PSU since I got it but i have no feasible way of testing if thats the issue other than underclocking which didnt seem to do anything.

My ram is only running that way cause im on a ridiculous budget where i was willing to let go of some performance and stability for more memory. Also I just kept running it that way considering I never really had any major stability issues and performance difference was negligible at best considering I always hit my target FPS in valorant (382 fps I have it capped at)

I updated the bios just a few days ago with the latest drivers from MSIs page