I’ve been troubleshooting a really strange issue over the past few days and I’ve narrowed it down quite a bit, but I’d like some confirmation before taking the next step.
Random black screen followed by restart (restart temporarily fixes it)
Happens consistently under load (games like RDR2, LLM workloads, etc.)
Sometimes a complete instant shutdown (no BSOD, no error.
Temps → completely normal (monitored via HWiNFO, no overheating of any component)
Event Viewer → only Kernel-Power 41 after crash
No driver crashes, no WHEA errors
System specs
- CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X
- RAM: 16GB (8×2) 3200 MHz
- Motherboard: Gigabyte B450M DS3H
- PSU: Cooler Master 550W Bronze
- Storage: SSDs + HDD
- (All components bought around end of 2022, out of warranty)
Earlier my NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 had overheating issues, so I got it repaired from a service center. After that, the overheating was fixed, but I kept getting black screen issues for a long time.
Isolation testing (done by local repair shop)
They tested by swapping components, and the result was very clear:
- With my NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 → crashes/shutdown still happen
- With a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (same system, same PSU, same cables) → completely stable
At this point:
- Is my 3060 basically failing (likely power delivery/VRM issue)?
- Or is there anything else worth checking before replacing it?
Should I:
- Replace just the GPU
- Or consider upgrading the whole system?