PC repeatedly crashes but fans and RGB light still run.

[unlimitedriceworks]

I've had this issue for several months now and its only become progressively worse. First it would only crash during gaming sessions, then it would crash around 3-5 minutes after start up. Even when crashing, the RGB lights and fans would still run as if it was on (and I would hear looping audio if it crashed while playing a game). When restarting it after a crash, I would sometimes be met with a blue screen that would prompt me to reset windows since none of the other options were working. After a reset, it would work just fine for hours on end. During this period I stress tested the GPU and CPU using Furmark and Prime 95 respectively, and both held together nicely. The RAM also seemed fine after using the windows memory diagnostic tool. After each crash, the event viewer say that there was critical event stating unexpected shutdown. Even while in the BIOS, inspecting it for any issues, it would crash after giving it a couple minutes.

 

What exactly is going on here?? This issue appeared about a year and a half after building the PC and I sure as hell didn't tweak any BIOS setting unintentionally. Could it be that I need to update the BIOS? I don't really believe its a software issue, as I've reset the PC several times at this point. Could it be a hardware issue with something to do with my PSU or mobo? I can't really afford to test components on a separate testbench so some advice or help would be gladly appreciated.

 

PC Specs:

RYZEN 7 5800X

EVGA FTW3 GeForce RTX 3070

MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI

CORSAIR VENGEANCE RGB PRO 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3200MHz

CORSAIR RM750 Watt 80 PLUS Gold

CORSAIR iCUE 4000X RGB

NZXT KRAKEN X53 RGB AIO

[Aaron_T]

Have you run any diagnostics on the health of your boot drive? Presumably an SSD of some sort?

I've had similar instability in the past leading up to the death of my OS drive.

[SpookyCitrus]

If you have not already I would recommend updating your bios, especially with AMD, bios updates fix all sorts of instability and crashing issues. Once that is done test for crashing, if it is still crashing I would think it's more likely a hardware issue. 

 

Typically when you have a crash that results in only a display cutout where you can still hear audio and the fans and lights are still functioning on the computer that would be caused by a GPU issue. It could also be an issue with the PSU, I would test both the GPU and PSU.

 

If the crashing is repeatable or happens frequently enough you should test another GPU in the system and see if it still has the same crashing problem. If it does, I would then test a new PSU in the system as well. In my experience one of those should be the culprit. You'll need to either purchase the parts from a retailer with a return policy or borrow them from someone you know in person with working components. If you cannot get parts to test this yourself your best bet is to take the computer into a repair shop that can do the troubleshooting for you.