Screen Going Black While PC Gaming? 6 Possible Causes and Solutions

OK, that’s definitely not normal. Your PC’s screen suddenly went dark in the middle of a gaming session, leaving you angry, frustrated, and (maybe most of all) confused.

What could possibly be going on inside your machine to cause this problem? While there are many different reasons that a PC’s screen can suddenly go black, we’ve lined up six of the most common ones below — plus troubleshooting tips that can help you find a solution.

1. Something isn’t connected fully or correctly.

After rebooting your PC (the first thing you should always try), make sure all of your PC’s cables are fully connected. Check to verify that your HDMI or DisplayPort cable is seated firmly, both to the ports on your GPU and on your monitor. You also might have defective cables or ports, so try using a different cable and/or a different port and see if it fixes the issue.

Finally, if your PC’s overall graphics performance has been poor, verify that your monitor is connected to your graphics card rather than your motherboard. If your CPU has an integrated GPU, connecting to your motherboard will tell it to use that instead of your graphics card. Most integrated GPUs can’t handle modern gaming and may simply shut down if pushed too hard.

2. There’s a configuration issue in your PC’s power or screen settings.

Certain options in your PC’s power settings may cause graphics issues. Check whether your PC has options like screen timeouts or auto-sleep enabled. These are intended to power down your PC if you haven’t interacted with it in a while, but setting them too aggressively can cause your machine and/or your display to suddenly sleep when you’re using it.

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Windows also includes various power-saving options. These options throttle the components’ power consumption in order to save battery life (on laptops) and reduce electricity use and heat (on desktops). However, this also reduces the power available to your GPU and other crucial components, potentially leading to crashes. Check your power settings and disable any battery-saving features that might be active.

3. Your graphics card drivers need to be updated.

Graphics cards use specialized software, known as drivers, that allow the card to communicate with your operating system. This software requires periodic updates, and outdated drivers are a common cause of black screens and other game performance issues.

You can find the latest version of your graphics card drivers as a free download on the card manufacturer’s website. Download the latest drivers, run the installer, and try your game again. Conversely, some cards experience issues after installing new drivers, so if you recently installed new ones, try rolling back your drivers instead.

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4. Your power supply isn’t providing enough wattage.

A PC may simply shut down if its components aren’t receiving enough power from the power supply unit (PSU). This can happen even if your power supply was previously working fine, since computer parts like your CPU and GPU require increased power when they’re under heavy load. If your power supply doesn’t have sufficient headroom, you could experience a sudden screen blackout when power consumption spikes.

If you suspect a power supply problem, start by calculating the wattage requirements of your components, and then compare them with your PSU’s rated output. Should you find your PSU isn’t producing enough power, you can either upgrade the unit or find ways to reduce power consumption, such as undervolting components. (There’s also the possibility that your PSU isn’t putting out its rated current levels due to damage or defects — see #6 below.)

5. Your system is shutting down because it’s getting too hot.

PCs also sometimes shut down when components like their CPU and/or GPU become overheated. Typically, it takes some serious heat levels for this to happen, so it’s most common if you’re pushing your components hard via overclocking, or playing a game on settings that your card can’t really handle. It’s also more common on laptops, which have a lower thermal threshold than desktops.

Plenty of PCs run a little hot with no problems, but if your PC unexpectedly got much hotter than usual before the black screen, it’s an issue worth looking into. You can use a heat monitor tool to keep tabs on your PC’s temperature and observe any spikes. Make sure your PC is physically clean also, as the buildup of dust and dirt in vents and fan housings is one of the most common causes of overheating.

6. One or more elements of your system are damaged or defective.

Finally, the one we all dread: There could be a mechanical problem with one of your components. If you have defective components causing screen blackouts, the problem most likely originates either in the power supply or the graphics card. It’s also possible that your monitor is the problem. This is easy to test by connecting your PC to a different display and seeing whether the problem persists.

You can test your power supply by performing a “jumper test” with a paper clip, or by using a multimeter or power supply testing tool. To test your graphics card, try running graphically-intensive benchmarking software like Heaven or Cinebench and see how your card performs. (The CPU and RAM can also cause this problem, so it’s worth running some benchmarks on these, too, if the PSU and GPU are in the clear.)

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Still, experiencing issues with screen blackouts? It might be time to take your computer to a repair pro who can help you diagnose and fix the problem. It’s not admitting defeat — it’s preventing the cause of the issue from getting worse. Every day you spend not dealing with it might mean a bigger headache later.