Why do some games keep crashing high end computers?
For example V rising used to crash my computer after 10-20min every time without exception until I lowered the graphic quality and disabled unlimited FPS (I set it to 60). Now it works without crashing.
I have a Gigabyte Geforce RTX 4090 that should be able to bear the load of the best graphics settings.
I tried doing the same in Valheim, but it keeps crashing particularly inside my megalomanic castle and the surrounding village (which could be part of the problem). But it also likes to crash while doing mundane stuff like walking through a forrest.
I see many other people having the same issues - they have a high end GPU and some games just keep crashing their computers. And as a counter point, my friend has a low end computer and he never had any crashes with V rising or with Valheim.
So my question is what is causing the issues here? Both games are made in Unity. Is the problem in Unity, developers, the GPU or the combination of all?
My guess would be power supply issues. Either the PSU isn't powerful enough to supply the whole system with power, and dipping in power at high draw situations like Valheim in a complicated building might be pushing it past the point where the system can keep stable on low juice. Or the PSU is faulty, either way, the solution would be a new PSU. Though which kind you should get as a replacement would be determined by the root cause.
There are websites where you can enter all of your components and it'll tell you the expected power draw to help give an idea of how many watts you should have to support the system.
This sounds like a build-issue.
RTX 4090 is a very power-hungry GPU, especially on the top end. It can suck down a lot of power, especially if FPS is unlimited and graphics setting are very high.
If your computer ever runs out of power, the computer crashes, even if it loses power for just 5-milliseconds, you're screwed. Only the beefiest power supplies can power that kind of high-performance load.
Sounds like a hardware issue. My first guess would be the power supply. People often overlook it or cheap out when they build their PC
It could also be a RAM issue. If your memory is running too fast, it may cause sudden crashes. Check if XMP is enabled (which it should be) and if it is, turn it off. That should run your memory at a slower speed. if the problem persists, then your memory is probably not the issue. If it goes away, your memory may have been poorly binned by the manufacturer and can't reliably run at full speed.
Sure you can do that as a test, it would not be great to just... accept it. If the problem goes away doing this look into better RAM.
Also, look into stress tests, there's some for the GPU and for the RAM, this way you can pinpoint where and why the crashes happens.
Given that, please be aware that running such a GPU and needing these kinds of advice is akin to running a Ferrari not knowing it needs gas to run.
Impossible to debug without access to the system, but one of the first things i think of is insufficient cooling. That also explains why it works fine at lower settings.
I tried looking in the Windows Events but nothing is logged there. I don't thing the temperatures are the issue here because I monitored the temperatures while playing and it never went above 80 C.
Try upping your cooling and keeping both the CPU and GPU a bit cooler than 80C.
Ok, thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it.
I would imagine that the CPU/GPU are getting too hot, which then in turn is overheating your PSU over the next 10-20 minutes, and then the PSU can't supply stable power, causing a crash. When you lower graphics quality, the 4090 puts out a fraction of the heat, staving off this issue. That's my best guess.
How are your temps? Is your massive GPU overheating your cooling capacity?
No, GPU peak temp doesn't go over 80C. Other temps also seem fine.
Have you tried upping your cooling just to see? If your card is overclocked, 80C might be too hot for it.