How do I troubleshoot random PC crashes? – SUPPORT CENTER

What does the problem look like?

If there's no clear pattern to your crashes, it usually means that your computer has underlying stability issues. In most cases, these faults are not caused by the game itself, but issues with the operating system or hardware components in your computer.

Before you continue to read this article, please ensure that you have completed the Troubleshooting Crashes & Other Technical Issues Guide as there may be an easier solution to your problem.

What can cause the issue?

Plugging the monitor into the wrong port

To ensure that your graphics card is being utilized, please plug your monitor directly into the graphics card, and not the motherboard as shown below. Using the wrong device can lead to poor performance and stability issues.

Install A Graphics Card | Step-by-Step Guide

Power Failure

High-end PC components demand a significant amount of power when fully utilized. If your Power Supply Unit (PSU) is unable to keep up with these demands, this can lead to system instability.

Overheating

All electronic components produce heat, but high performance devices will produce significantly more heat. If this heat is not effectively managed, it can permanently damage the hardware in your PC. Overtime, the silicone in PC components can degrade from the repeated heating and cooling of the device. Most components will define their maximum safe operating temperature in the product's specifications. If they reach these limits, they may automatically shut off or reduce performance to protect itself. Overheating of the graphics card (GPU) can also be accompanied by visual artifacts.

Faulty Hardware

Faults can occur from a power surge, overheating or a factory defect. A faulty component will typically continue to produce errors and crashes. If your PC components are still under warranty, you may need to return them for repair or replacement.

Identifying an Issue

Monitoring Temperatures

It would be good practice to see how hot the components in your PC get when they are idle, compared to when they are under load. If the temperature of your GPU/CPU is frequently getting close to the maximum safe operating temperature of that component, it would indicate that there is a problem with your cooling set-up. We would recommend using free software to monitor your system temperature while you are gaming, using free software, such as Open Hardware Monitor.

Stress Testing

Narrowing down which component in your PC is causing you trouble can be difficult. However, free stress testing software like OCCT can help you identify faulty components by individually testing the stability of the CPU, GPU, Memory, VRAM, and power supplies.

Preventing the Issue

Ventilation

Maintaining your PC includes regular cleaning. Dust and debris can build up over time, causing it to overheat and potentially damage the internal components. Effective cooling requires an intake of cool air that has unrestricted airflow over the components inside your PC, and the exhaust of hot air. You will also need to consider the ambient temperature of the room your PC it kept it, as it will affect it's cooling efficiency.

Certain models of prebuilt PCs and laptops will have compromised cooling solutions due to blocked intakes, ineffective fans, low quality heat sinks, and poor thermal paste application. Replacing the Thermal paste on your GPU or CPU is something you will need to consider if your PC is more than a few years old, as it can dry out over time and become less effective. If this is not something you would be comfortable doing, please reach out to your local computer specialist/repair shop.

Motherboard BIOS Settings

Most modern motherboards come with "optimized defaults" that can push your hardware beyond safe limits without touching any settings. This will effectively overclock your CPU without you knowing by labelled these settings as "Auto". This will increase voltages and clock speeds well beyond the "stock" limits recommended by AMD/Intel. Doing this can lead to system instability, crashes and potential damage to your hardware.

The BIOS settings can be difficult to navigate for the average user, so we would recommend that you reach out to the motherboard manufacturer to understand how to disable any settings that would push your CPU beyond stock AMD/Intel defaults. The video below explains the problem in more detail and will show you what to look out for.

Choosing a Power Supply Unit (PSU)

If you are building or upgrading your PC, you will need to ensure that you have a reliable PSU to power it. You will need to consider what the maximum theoretical load of your PC will be in Watts. Then, you can select a PSU that will deliver that power efficiently without overloading it. Ideally, your maximum load needs to be between 50-80% of the PSUs total capacity. Fortunately, there is an easy way to do this using the Be Quiet Power Supply Calculator.

When selecting a PSU, you want to ensure that you buy from a reputable brand, as a cheap "no name" brand has the potential to catastrophically fail, damaging the components in your PC.

In-Game Settings

However, there are some steps you can take to ensure that your PC is not doing more work than it need to. If left unchecked, your PC may be working harder, and producing more heat for little benefit to the player. Here are a few things you can check to control your power usage and temperatures.

Set Max FPS to 60 - Setting a frame rate limit, means your PC working at 100% all the time to produce an unspecified amount of frames a second. This can also lead to a smoother experience, as a limit means less frame rate variability.
Enable V-Sync - V-Sync will prevent the frame rate from going over the refresh rate of the monitor and prevent image tearing. If your monitor runs at 60 Hz, you won't be able to see more than 60 frames a second.
Lower your graphical settings - You may be able to lower your graphical settings, with little impact on the game visuals, meaning your GPU won't need to work as hard.
Lower the Screen Percentage - Settings this above 100% will increase the internal resolution of the game, but it is extremely demanding on the GPU.

RMA - Returning Faulty Hardware

If you have identified a faulty component, and it is still in warranty, you may be able to send it back to the retailer or manufacturer for a replacement or repair.

Additional Reading