SOVLED! Why My Graphics Card Keeps Crashing? (Ways To Fix)

Graphics cards keep crashing when they are having a problem and regular hangs, flawed displays and freezing are the major evidence that you are having a corrupt graphics card. A GPU plays a significant role in the processing of images or videos on your system. 

The major reason behind crashing graphics cards includes increased temperature that can be somehow due to slower or less RAM. Other possible reasons behind the issues include overclocked GPU, bad cooling, outdated drivers, and issues in the power supply unit. 

This article gives you detailed insights on why is your graphics card crashing, the crashing of the GPU during intense gameplay sessions, and how you can fix a graphics card with frequent crashing issues. 

Reasons Why Graphics Cards Keep Crashing

As discussed above the possible reasons behind flawed graphics cards here’s how to see the real reasons behind the video card crashing issue:

1. Outdated Drivers

That latest edition of the graphics drivers is required for the seamless functioning of the graphics cards. You need to check if you have the latest graphics drivers issued by the PC manufacturer. Refer to the official website for the same. In case you fail to find the latest drivers, you can try a trusted graphics driver updating a third-party application. You can try AVG driver updater or Driver Genius to check and fix the outdated drivers.

You can also install the graphics card drivers from the official websites of the card manufacturers.

2. OverHeating

A constant increase in temperature can also cause your GPU to crash. GPUs can easily reach their throttling levels because of numerous reasons. Some of them are as follows.

  1. Poor Case Cooling
  2. Clogged cooling fans
  3. Faults in AIO
  4. Too much load in longer runs

Another reason behind the increased temperatures can be excess load on your power supply. An overloaded power supply results in overclocking of GPU thus increasing the temperatures. You should have an active cooling solution for your all PC components. If you suspect overlocking of your video card you can underclock it using any third-party application like MSI Afterburner

Aged thermal paste can sometimes cause problem by not dissipating the heat properly. So, if your graphics card is too old, take note of the thermal paste as well.

3. Slower RAM

RAM impacts your GPU performance up to a great extent. When playing games, your GPU is responsible for the graphics and RAM works on performance. The dedicated graphic cards however are very less to suffer due to a shortage of System RAM. The older graphics cards are more likely to suffer if you are having less or slower RAM. Also, if the total amount of VRAM in your graphics card isn’t enough for a game, it may put the GPU under a huge load.

4. Issues In the Power Supply Unit

As a matter of fact, all the PC components require a minimum amount of power to function. The same goes with GPU, when your PSU fails to supply enough power to your graphics card then it experiences crashes or stuttering. You can counter this issue easily by checking out the requirements of your GPU and then installing a power supply that has no faults.

Does Heavy Gaming Result In GPU Crashing

Heavy gaming can be a reason behind your frequent GPU crashes if you have an older GPU or you don’t have a dedicated Graphics card. Yes, a long and intense gaming session can be the reason behind the crashing of your GPU.

So, how to curb this issue? A major section of games with high system requirements comes with special settings for videos. Since games align the settings as per your device’s configuration, you still need to manually do the configuration. You can try lowering the graphics and other features after testing them one by one. 

If you are playing some really high-end games then there is the possibility of your graphics card consuming too much power which your power supply is failing to provide. So, you should always match the highest requirements of your graphics card in terms of power. 

Having a high-end graphics card doesn’t mean your GPU won’t crash while gaming as sometimes there are some third-party anti-virus applications installed on your system that restrict your gaming after they find some files suspicious. 

Also, it is advised to not blame the crashes during games on GPU. Sometimes the games crash due to network issues, snagging from digital rights management and faulty drivers, etc. 

How to Fix a Frequently Crashing Graphics Card

The major reasons behind the graphics card crashing have been already mentioned above with their solutions. Here are some other steps that can help you in fixing a GPU with frequent crashes. 

  1. Avoid using VPNs while you play games online. As most VPNs fail to maintain the connection with the servers for a long time which leads to disconnection during gaming. You can try using a faster VPN service with a lightning-fast internet connection.
  2. Your operating system could also be the reason behind your GPU not working properly as older operating systems fail to cooperate with the hardware components. Minimum Operating system versions recommended are Windows 8.1, Mac OS X 10.4 (Mojave), and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
  3. Before you buy a GPU you should always know if this would be compatible with your PC Hardware requirements. The GPUs in the market, today are powerful in performance and don’t align with older PC hardware components well. All the games and software will have their system requirement pages. You can always find the graphics card required to run the games.
  4. The practice of CPU overclocking is not common among gamers and really improves the performance in gaming upto some extent. This method is, however, not so successful in the long run as too much overclocking can result in crashing games putting the entire blame on GPU. If you really want to get the best results out of overclocking, make sure to upgrade the cooling system as well.
  5. Make sure that you are running games in the right mode as per the video settings. A combination of low-profile GPU with high-end games can cause lags in gaming. 
  6. There should always be a close check on any other application running in the background that utilizes your GPU. Not every time your GPU can run two bigger applications at the same moment. Let’s say, you cannot run a design software and a high-end game simultaneously. 

The Conclusion

Not all of us play games on a regular basis, so it’s okay for a GPU to crash on normal PC specifications. If you like playing games as a passionate member, then you should surely go for high-end graphics cards with proper cooling systems. In most cases, excessive heat is the main culprit behind this crashing issue. So, make sure to keep the heat under control and your graphics card will work fine.

The reasons and solutions for your GPU crash have been mentioned in this article. I hope your issues have been resolved by now.