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Riot Vanguard VAN Error Codes: Every Code and Its Fix

LK Wood IV — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 05:30:00 -0500

By LK Wood IV · Published 2026-10-02 · ~14 min read · St. Louis County, MO

TL;DR · Riot Vanguard VAN errors

Search the table for your number. Keep the minus sign. A search for VAN 81 means VAN -81, because Riot has no positive 81.
VAN 57, -1, -117, 9051 or 9007: Vanguard is not running or its install is damaged. Set the vgc service to Automatic, restart, then reinstall Vanguard.
Secure Boot and TPM codes (9001, 9003, 9005, 9090, RESTRICTION 1 and 4, STATUS_SB_POLICY) usually mean a firmware setting. Get your BitLocker recovery key first, then use the Secure Boot fix.
RESTRICTION 5 is Memory Integrity. See Memory Integrity on or off.
VAN 216 is a cooldown. Wait 30 minutes without pressing Play.
VAN 152 is a hardware ban. Nothing on this page removes it.

Riot’s own list of Vanguard errors is 47 links with no meaning written beside any of them. The list is dated May 22, 2026. Of the 47 articles it links, 37 carry a later date, 35 of them from July. It also leaves out five codes Riot has written articles for, and one of them, VAN 216, was eighth in Bing’s suggestions for “vanguard error” on 2026-10-02.

This page does the part the index skips. One table holds all 52 codes with what Riot says each one means, written short, plus a fix family, a verdict on whether you can fix it at all, and the date on Riot’s article so you can judge how fresh the advice is. Below the table, each family’s steps appear once. Riot repeats them per code.

Riot Vanguard is the anti-cheat for both VALORANT and League of Legends, and the old League-only error list now redirects to the same shared index — one list, two games. If your game uses Easy Anti-Cheat instead, the Easy Anti-Cheat fix guide is the page you want, and BattlEye has its own.

Rule out one mix-up first. Riot’s index warns that VAL errors are a different family, so VAL 59 is not VAN 59. Check the letters.

Every VAN code, what it means and the fix

The “Riot’s date” column is the date shown on Riot’s article. “Game named” records only where Riot’s article names a game, usually in its sample error message. Every one of these articles sits in Riot’s shared support section rather than under one game, so a blank there does not mean the code is limited to one title. Rows marked off-index are Riot articles that the index does not link.

Code	Also seen as	What Riot says it means	Fix family	Can you fix it?	Game named	Riot’s date
VAN -117	VAN MISSING -117, VAN 117	Vanguard is not running, so the client closes	Not running	Yes		2025-10-23
VAN -104	VAN 104	Trouble starting, staying connected or confirming readiness	Connection	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-09
VAN -102	VAN 102	Same text as -104	Connection	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-09
VAN -101	VAN 101	The PC or OS is below League’s system requirements	Platform	Only on a supported PC	League	2026-07-16
VAN -92	VAN 92	Same text as -104	Connection	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-10
VAN -83	VAN 83	Same text as -104	Connection	Yes		2026-07-10
VAN -81	VAN 81	Same text as -104	Connection	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-10
VAN -79	VAN 79	Same text as -104	Connection	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-10
VAN -72	VAN 72	Same text as -104	Connection	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-10
VAN -1	VAN 1	Vanguard failed to start, or a service it needs is unavailable	Not running	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-08
VAN 0		Couldn’t verify the PC is ready, or failed while initializing	PC not ready	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-17
VAN 6		Same text as VAN 0	PC not ready	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-08
VAN 25		A startup or system trust check failed	Trust checks	Yes		2025-03-14
VAN 57		Vanguard is not running or couldn’t start	Not running	Yes		2026-07-08
VAN 59		Unexpected problem starting or talking to the Riot Client	Riot Client	Yes		2026-07-16
VAN 68		Lost the connection or session it needs	Connection	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-16
VAN 84		Same text as VAN 0	PC not ready	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-17
VAN 128		Same text as VAN 25, plus a debug-dump step	Trust checks	Yes		2025-03-14
VAN 133		Same text as VAN 0	PC not ready	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-14
VAN 135		Same text as VAN 0	PC not ready	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-14
VAN 138		Running in a virtual machine	Platform	Not inside a VM	VALORANT	2026-07-14
VAN 140		Startup or connection issue between the game, Riot Client and Vanguard	Riot Client	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-16
VAN 148		Unexpected issue while starting or checking in	Riot Client	Yes		2026-07-15
VAN 152		The device has a hardware ID (HWID) ban	HWID ban	No		2026-07-16
VAN 185		Session or connection issue between the game, Riot Client and Vanguard	Riot Client	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-17
VAN 193		Trouble starting or communicating with the Riot Client	Riot Client	Yes		2026-07-16
VAN 216 (off-index)		Too many launch attempts in a short period	Cooldown	Wait 30 minutes	VALORANT	2026-07-17
VAN 289 (off-index)		Software on the PC interferes with Vanguard or changes how it runs	Software	Yes	VALORANT	2026-09-18
VAN 293 (off-index)	VAN -293	Same text as -104	Connection	Yes	VALORANT	2026-08-12
VAN 302 (off-index)		Software such as antivirus interferes with Vanguard	Software	Yes	VALORANT	2026-08-13
VAN 1067		Unexpected issue while starting or checking in	Riot Client	Yes	VALORANT	2026-07-17
VAN 2266		Same text as VAN 0	PC not ready	Yes		2026-07-17
VAN 9001	VAN9001	TPM 2.0 is not detected as enabled	Security features	Yes, in firmware		2026-02-04
VAN 9002	VAN9002	Exploit Protection (Control Flow Guard) is off	Security features	Yes		2026-02-03
VAN 9003	VAN9003	Secure Boot is not enabled	Security features	Yes, in firmware		2026-05-11
VAN 9004	VAN9004	Windows is older than Windows 10 20H1	Platform	Yes, Windows Update		2026-07-16
VAN 9005	VAN9005	No TPM 2.0 and UEFI firmware setup for VBS	Security features	Yes, in firmware		2026-01-15
VAN 9006	VAN9006	Same meaning as VAN 9004	Platform	Yes, Windows Update		2026-07-17
VAN 9007 (off-index)	VAN9007	The Vanguard installation may be corrupted or not working correctly	Not running	Yes		2026-08-19
VAN 9051		Internal error Vanguard could not recover from	Not running	Yes		2026-07-16
VAN 9090		TPM 2.0 failed to initialize, for example after being cleared	Security features	Yes, in firmware		2026-07-16
VAN 9100		Running in a virtual machine or unsupported virtualized environment	Platform	Not inside a VM		2026-07-16
VAN 9101	Attestation failure	Couldn’t fully verify the PC’s current system state	Trust checks	Yes		2026-07-20
VAN: RESTRICTION	no number	A Windows build or security feature named in the message is missing	Security features	Depends on the message		2026-05-29
VAN: RESTRICTION: 1	RESTRICTION 1	Secure Boot couldn’t be verified	Security features	Yes, in firmware		2026-06-24
VAN: RESTRICTION: 3	RESTRICTION 3	The game is not on the Windows drive	Platform	Yes, reinstall		2026-03-13
VAN: RESTRICTION: 4	RESTRICTION 4	Secure Boot configuration couldn’t be verified	Security features	Yes, in firmware		2026-07-20
VAN: RESTRICTION: 5	RESTRICTION 5	Memory Integrity (HVCI/VBS) couldn’t be verified	Security features	Yes		2026-03-13
Incompatible Software		A named file or driver fails Vanguard’s requirements	Software	Yes		2026-01-27
Incompatible OEM Driver		A named storage or Wi-Fi driver fails Vanguard’s requirements	Software	Yes, except iastorvd.sys (as of July 17, 2026)		2026-07-17
STATUS_VMD_9001		Can’t talk to the Intel VMD controller	Software	Yes		2026-07-17
STATUS_SB_POLICY		The Secure Boot policy can’t be verified	Security features	Yes, in firmware		2026-07-17

Read across the date column and two things stand out. VAN 25 and VAN 128 are the oldest advice Riot has here. Both date from March 14, 2025. Both open with a change to Windows boot settings. And four of the five off-index articles are newer than anything on the index, so the codes Riot published most recently are the ones its list does not show.

Vanguard is not running or its install is damaged

Codes in this family: VAN 57, -1, -117, 9051, 9007.

Five codes, one problem. Vanguard’s service did not start, or it started and broke. VAN 57’s article sets the full order, and the other four are subsets of it.

Set the vgc service to Automatic, unless you use Vanguard Pre-Check. Press Windows + R, run services.msc, open vgc, set Startup type to Automatic, click Start if it shows Stopped, then Apply and restart.
Restart if vgc was already Automatic.
Reinstall Vanguard. Right-click the Vanguard tray icon, choose Advanced, then Uninstall Vanguard. Restart, then launch the game, and it reinstalls Vanguard.
Clean boot, using Riot’s clean boot guide.
Reinstall the game.

VAN -117 skips the service step. VAN -1 is just the reinstall plus the service. VAN 9051 is a restart, then a reinstall. VAN 9007’s in-game message says the install is corrupted. Riot’s article hedges. It says the installation “may be corrupted or isn’t working correctly”. Either way, go straight to a reinstall, then delete vgkbootstatus.dat from C:\Windows (Riot has you search that folder for it) and restart.

Pre-Check matters for step 1. It is Riot’s optional on-demand mode, where Vanguard starts with a Riot game instead of with Windows, and Riot limits it to PCs running Windows 11 25H2 or newer with Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, IOMMU, VBS and HVCI all on. Never turned it on? Then vgc has to be Automatic.

When the tray uninstall fails, Riot’s manual route removes both of Vanguard’s services. Close every Riot program, open Command Prompt as administrator and run:

sc delete vgc
sc delete vgk

Restart, delete any leftover Riot Vanguard folder under C:\Program Files, then open the Riot Client and it reinstalls Vanguard.

“Couldn’t verify that your PC is ready”

Codes in this family: VAN 0, 6, 84, 133, 135, 2266.

Six codes, one text. Riot’s article for each says Vanguard couldn’t verify the PC is ready to run the game or hit an issue while initializing, word for word, and the steps match too. So a fix posted for VAN 84 is the fix for VAN 133.

Install every Windows update and restart.
Set vgc to Automatic (step 1 above).
Reinstall Vanguard.
Clean boot.
Reinstall the game.
Work through Riot’s PC connection troubleshooting guide.

Trouble starting or staying connected

Codes in this family: VAN -72, -79, -81, -83, -92, -102, -104, 293, 68.

The seven negative codes share one sentence: Vanguard is having trouble starting, staying connected or confirming everything is ready. Same steps, too. Search engines drop the minus sign. Riot has no article at the positive address for any of the seven, so VAN 81 on a forum is VAN -81.

Restart the PC.
Check the Windows date, time and time zone. Riot says a wrong clock can make services and secure connections fail before the game launches.
Set vgc to Automatic.
Reinstall Vanguard.
Clean boot.
Reinstall the game.
Work through Riot’s PC connection guide.

VAN 293 is off the index. Its heading says VAN 293 while its first line says VAN -293, so treat either form as this family. Its steps skip the clock check. VAN 68 adds one step, disabling Killer Network Service, because Riot says Killer’s traffic prioritization can interfere with the connection.

Riot Client conflicts

Codes in this family: VAN 59, 140, 148, 185, 193, 1067.

Here Riot’s lists differ. The step unique to each code is the one I would try first.

VAN 59: fully close the Riot Client and reopen it, then reinstall Vanguard, then the game.
VAN 185: check the game’s minimum requirements, unplug controllers, restart the Riot Client and sign out of it on any other PC, since Riot says a second signed-in PC can cause session conflicts.
VAN 193: make sure only one Riot Client is running, restart, and set vgc to Automatic. Riot’s next steps are restoring Windows security (trust checks), then deleting vgkbootstatus.dat. Riot suggests testing in Practice Tool or a custom game so a repeat crash cannot cost you a matchmade game.
VAN 140: on the game shortcut and on RiotClientServices.exe, open Properties, then Compatibility. Tick Disable fullscreen optimizations and Run this program as an administrator. Then, under Change high DPI settings, override scaling and set it to Application.
VAN 148 and VAN 1067: same meaning. Update Windows and run the Riot Client as administrator. VAN 1067 adds disconnecting controllers and a malware scan.

Riot’s VAN 1067 article has no Secure Boot or TPM step in it. Leave the BIOS alone for this one.

System trust checks

Codes in this family: VAN 25, 128, 9101.

VAN 25 and VAN 128 share their text. Vanguard couldn’t complete a startup or system trust check. Both start with Riot’s “restore Windows security to a normal state”, which turns test signing off and driver integrity checks back on. These are boot settings, so have your BitLocker recovery key written down before you run them. In an administrator Command Prompt:

bcdedit /set TESTSIGNING off
bcdedit /set nointegritychecks OFF

If Windows answers that the value is protected by Secure Boot policy, skip that line, because Riot says Secure Boot is already enforcing it. Restart.

VAN 128 adds a second step. Press Windows, run sysdm.cpl, go to Advanced, open the Start-up and Recovery settings, and set Write debugging information to (None). That stops Windows writing a memory dump after a crash, so if you are also chasing blue screens, you lose the evidence. Fix the Vanguard error first. Then decide. After those steps both codes fall back to Windows Update, vgc Automatic, a Vanguard reinstall, a clean boot and a game reinstall.

VAN 9101 is the in-game “attestation failure”. Riot’s order is to update graphics, chipset and storage drivers with your PC or hardware maker’s own software, unplug every non-essential USB device, clean boot, then make sure Windows has not been modified and every security feature Vanguard needs is on.

Software or a driver in Vanguard’s way

Codes in this family: Incompatible Software, Incompatible OEM Driver, STATUS_VMD_9001, VAN 289, VAN 302.

Incompatible Software names the file in the error, usually a .sys driver path. Uninstall the program that installed it from Settings, Apps, Installed apps, and restart. Riot’s fallback is to delete the flagged file itself. I would only do that when the file belongs to software already removed, because deleting a driver a device still uses breaks that device. Riot’s remaining steps are DNS settings, no VPN or proxy, and a Vanguard reinstall.

Incompatible OEM Driver also names a file, and Riot’s article maps each one to a fix.

Driver in the error	What it is	Riot’s fix
`iastorvd.sys`	Intel VMD / Rapid Storage Technology	As of Riot’s July 17, 2026 article, Intel is preparing a compatible driver; install it once released
`secnvme.sys`	NVMe storage driver	Switch to Microsoft’s NVM Express Controller driver
`solidnvm.sys`	NVMe storage driver	Switch to Microsoft’s NVM Express Controller driver
`asstahci64.sys`	SATA AHCI driver	Switch to Microsoft’s Standard SATA AHCI Controller driver
`mtkwl6ex.sys`	MediaTek RZ616 Wi-Fi 6E	Driver 3.5 or later, from Windows Update’s optional updates

The storage swap goes through Device Manager, under Storage controllers or IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, where you open the device’s Driver tab, choose Update Driver, then Browse my computer, then Let me pick from a list. Riot says the Provider field reads Microsoft Corporation once it is done. This changes the driver for the controller your drive sits on, which is often the drive Windows boots from. Make a restore point and back up first, and pick only the Microsoft driver Riot names for your drive type.

STATUS_VMD_9001 is the other Intel storage code — and the one that contradicts it. Riot says it is a fault talking to the Intel VMD controller, most common on Intel Rapid Storage Technology systems. On a prebuilt, install the RST driver from the PC maker’s support site; on a self-built PC, or a prebuilt the maker no longer updates, Riot points you to Intel’s generic one. STATUS_VMD_9001 says install the current RST driver, while the OEM-driver article, dated the same day, says the compatible iastorvd.sys was still to come from Intel. The file name in your error decides which one applies.

VAN 289 and VAN 302 are both off the index and both say software is interfering. For 289, Riot’s steps are a restart, a clean boot, closing anything that survives it (Riot names overlays and capture tools), then temporarily uninstalling any antivirus added on top of Windows Security. For 302, disable the antivirus and restart. If the error stays, temporarily uninstall it and close anything that modifies the game.

Windows security features: Secure Boot, TPM and Memory Integrity

Codes in this family: VAN 9001, 9002, 9003, 9005, 9090, the four RESTRICTION codes other than 3, and STATUS_SB_POLICY.

Most of this family is fixed in the PC’s firmware, and a firmware change made in the wrong order can stop Windows from booting. Two warnings come before any of it. Riot’s Secure Boot guide says that if msinfo32 shows BIOS Mode as Legacy, switching to UEFI before converting the drive from MBR to GPT leaves Windows unbootable. And Microsoft lists clearing or disabling the TPM, a BIOS or UEFI firmware update, and boot manager changes among the events that put a BitLocker-protected PC into recovery. Find your BitLocker recovery key before you start. The Secure Boot fix walks the safe order step by step, so this section only maps each code to the feature it wants.

Code	What Vanguard wants	Where to fix it
VAN 9003	Secure Boot on	Secure Boot fix
RESTRICTION: 1	Secure Boot verified, in UEFI mode	Secure Boot fix; if it is already on, Riot says update the BIOS
RESTRICTION: 4	A Secure Boot configuration Vanguard can verify	Secure Boot fix
STATUS_SB_POLICY	Secure Boot keys at factory default	Secure Boot fix (key reset), even when Secure Boot is on
VAN 9001	TPM 2.0 enabled	Secure Boot fix, which also covers TPM
VAN 9090	TPM 2.0 initialized again, for example after a clear	Secure Boot fix, which also covers TPM
VAN 9005	TPM 2.0 and UEFI firmware, for VBS	TPM, then Secure Boot, then Memory Integrity
RESTRICTION: 5	Memory Integrity (HVCI/VBS) running	Memory Integrity on or off
RESTRICTION (no number)	Whatever the message names	The matching row above, or Windows Update
VAN 9002	Exploit Protection at defaults	Windows Security, below

Read before you change anything. Riot’s guides all start from msinfo32. BIOS Mode should read UEFI and Secure Boot State On. Virtualization-based security should read Running. Kernel DMA Protection reading On means IOMMU is active. All four right? Then the firmware is not your problem.

Three details are specific to Vanguard and easy to miss.

A VAN: RESTRICTION wants firmware TPM. Riot’s TPM guide says a discrete TPM 2.0 module satisfies VAN 9001, but a RESTRICTION needs Intel PTT or AMD fTPM. A plug-in module alone will not clear it.
One RESTRICTION cannot be met on Windows 10. When the message asks for Windows build 26100 or newer, Riot says that is only supported on Windows 11. A build 19045 requirement is reachable with Windows updates. Microsoft’s Settings, System, About page shows which version you run.
The numberless RESTRICTION can ask for IOMMU. Riot’s article lists it beside TPM, Secure Boot and Memory Integrity, and its IOMMU guide covers it.

VAN 9002 never touches firmware. The in-game message names Control Flow Guard. Search Start for exploit protection and open it. Under System settings, set Control flow guard, Data Execution Prevention, Force randomization for images, Randomized memory allocation, High-entropy ASLR, Validate exception chains and Validate heap integrity to Use default. Then, under Program settings, remove every entry for Riot Games, Riot Vanguard or a Riot game, and restart.

Platform limits: virtual machines, old Windows and the install drive

Codes in this family: VAN 138, 9100, 9004, 9006, -101, RESTRICTION 3.

These are about where the game runs and what it runs on.

VAN 138 and 9100: Vanguard does not run in a virtual machine or an unsupported virtualized environment, and Riot’s first step is a regular Windows install. That rules out a Windows guest on Proxmox even with a passed-through GPU, so the GPU passthrough guide is a setup for other games. VAN 138’s article also has you check the firewall.
VAN 9004 and 9006: Vanguard needs Windows 10 20H1 or newer. Install every Windows update and restart.
VAN -101: League’s system requirements are not met. Riot’s answer is a supported computer or operating system, or a ticket if you are sure the PC meets them.
RESTRICTION 3: Vanguard validates the game only from the internal drive Windows is installed on. A game on a USB drive or a second internal drive trips it. Reinstall the game to the Windows drive, usually C:, and restart.

VAN 216: a 30-minute cooldown

VAN 216 is not on Riot’s index. Riot’s article, dated July 17, 2026, says it can appear when too many launch attempts happen in a short period. Wait at least 30 minutes without pressing Play. Pressing Play early restarts the clock.

VAN 152: a hardware ban

Nothing on the PC fixes VAN 152. Riot says the device has a hardware ID (HWID) ban, and that reinstalling Vanguard or the game, changing the connection or restarting will not remove it. Two more facts matter. Reinstalling the game or deleting the banned account does not lift the ban. And another account, a friend’s or a family member’s, that logs in on the banned PC is restricted there and banned for a set period. So do not log in there at all.

Riot’s process is the only route back. The HWID ban article explains which bans Player Support will re-evaluate. This page does not cover anything else.

When the vgc service will not start

A vgc service that is stopped, or keeps stopping, belongs to the not-running family. Riot’s service article covers setting vgc to Automatic and clicking Start. Neither that article nor Riot’s uninstall article mentions Windows service errors such as 1053 or “Incorrect function”, so the documented route past a service that refuses to start is the manual reinstall. That means sc delete vgc, sc delete vgk, a restart, then a fresh install from the Riot Client.

Before you file a ticket

Riot’s index says to submit a ticket with logs when your exact code is not listed, and most per-code articles end the same way. Riot’s Riot Repair Tool gathers them. Download it, run it as administrator on Windows, pick the game, and attach the .zip it creates. Write down the full error text first. For Incompatible OEM Driver, Riot asks for the driver name from the message.

How this table was built

I opened Riot’s index and all 47 articles it links on 2026-10-02, along with every Riot guide cited above, and wrote each meaning in short form from Riot’s own text. The date column is the date each article displays, which matches the article’s own update stamp.

The off-index codes came from a URL sweep. On 2026-10-02, between 10:49 and 10:55 UTC, a script requested Riot’s article address for every VAN code from -300 to 1,100, 2,200 to 2,300 and 9,000 to 9,120, under all three paths Riot files these articles under, plus RESTRICTION 2 to 12. That is 4,880 addresses. 45 answered 200. One answered 301, a second address for VAN 152 that redirects to its article. The rest were 404. Every 200 is either on the index or one of the five off-index rows.

The sweep has a blind spot. Named errors like STATUS_SB_POLICY cannot be guessed by number, so a named code Riot has not linked would not show up here. No fix on this page was run on a TechFuelHQ machine. The steps are Riot’s, and the grouping, the fixability column and the alias notes are mine.

BattlEye Errors: What the Number in Brackets Means

LK Wood IV — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

By LK Wood IV · Published 2026-10-02 · ~13 min read · St. Louis County, MO

TL;DR · Fix BattlEye

Startup failed, failed to install, stuck at "Starting BattlEye Service": BattlEye's own order is security exceptions, then delete C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\BattlEye, then run the game's _BE launcher as administrator.
A number in brackets? It is a Windows error code. 1053 is a start timeout, 1058 a disabled service, 1072 a service marked for deletion, 1450 a resource shortage, 1275 a blocked driver. Each has its own section below.
Driver Load Error 1275: BattlEye blames Windows 11's Kernel-mode Hardware-enforced Stack Protection and says to switch that one toggle off.
Kicked in game? Query Timeout, Bad Service Version and Corrupted Memory are kick messages with different fixes. See the kick table.
"(4, 30001770)" and similar install codes have no documented meaning on any BattlEye or publisher page I found. Use the install procedure.

BattlEye failures arrive as one of two kinds of text. The first kind stops the launch: “BattlEye Service startup failed”, “Failed to install BattlEye Service”, “Failed to initialize BattlEye Service: Driver Load Error (1072)”. The second kind throws you out of a server after you are in: Query Timeout, Bad Service Version, Corrupted Memory #0. They have different causes and different fixes, and this page keeps them apart.

If you have an exact message, jump to it: the bracket-code table, the install and startup repair, 1053, 1058, 1072, 1450, 1275, kernel debugging or test-signing, kick messages, GTA V, other games or uninstall.

The fixes are BattlEye’s, from its FAQ, and the game publishers’. What I added is the part none of them prints: what the number in brackets means, read from Microsoft’s own error table, and which fix each number points to.

What BattlEye puts on your PC

Three pieces matter when you troubleshoot. The BE Launcher sits in the game folder, usually as an executable ending in _BE; Rockstar’s examples are GTA5_BE and GTA5_Enhanced_BE. The BE Service lives in C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\BattlEye as BEService.exe, registered with Windows under the service name BEService. BattlEye’s kernel driver is BEDaisy.sys, the file Windows names when it blocks BattlEye with error 1275.

BattlEye’s FAQ is blunt about when it runs. It is active only while you play a BattlEye-protected game with BattlEye enabled, and “any other time it will never run in any way.” Ubisoft’s help page says the same for its games and adds that if you uninstall BattlEye, the game will not launch.

That timing explains the launcher’s log. A January 2025 question on Microsoft Q&A quotes it line by line:

10:24:48: Starting BattlEye Service...
10:24:56: Failed to start BattlEye Service (1053).
10:24:56: Installing BattlEye Service...
10:25:03: Failed to install BattlEye Service (4, 5000041d).

The launcher tries to start the service, and when that fails it tries to reinstall it. Two errors in a row is one problem, and the bracketed number on the first line is the one to read.

The number in brackets is a Windows error code

BattlEye publishes no list of these numbers. The two it does explain line up exactly with Microsoft’s System Error Codes reference. Its 1275 entry is about Windows refusing to load BEDaisy.sys, and Microsoft’s 1275 is ERROR_DRIVER_BLOCKED, “This driver has been blocked from loading.” Its 577 entry is about driver signatures, and Microsoft’s 577 is ERROR_INVALID_IMAGE_HASH, “Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file.” The Microsoft Q&A log above adds a third match. Beside the launcher’s 1053, the user’s Event Viewer said the service “did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion”, which is Microsoft’s 1053 text word for word.

So read the number against Microsoft’s table, then go to the fix it points at.

Code	Microsoft’s name	Microsoft’s meaning	What it means for BattlEye	Fix
1053	ERROR_SERVICE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT	The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.	BEService was launched but never reported that it was running.	1053
1058	ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED	The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.	BEService’s startup type is set to Disabled.	1058
1060	ERROR_SERVICE_DOES_NOT_EXIST	The specified service does not exist as an installed service.	What `sc query BEService` prints when BattlEye is not installed at all.	Check the service
1072	ERROR_SERVICE_MARKED_FOR_DELETE	The specified service has been marked for deletion.	An old BEService is half removed and blocks the new one.	1072
1275	ERROR_DRIVER_BLOCKED	This driver has been blocked from loading.	Windows refused BEDaisy.sys. BattlEye ties it to stack protection.	1275
1450	ERROR_NO_SYSTEM_RESOURCES	Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service.	Windows ran short of a system resource while starting BattlEye.	1450
577	ERROR_INVALID_IMAGE_HASH	Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file.	BattlEye documents it only for Windows 7 without SHA-2 support.	Legacy

The other number format, “Failed to install BattlEye Service (4, 30001770)” or “(4, 40000430)”, is not in Microsoft’s table, and neither BattlEye nor any publisher page I read explains it. I do not decode those. Epic’s help page for one of them, (4, 50000005), gives the same steps as the install and startup repair below, plus a driver update, so that procedure is where every “(4, …)” code goes.

Check the service before you change anything

Open Command Prompt and run:

sc query BEService
sc qc BEService

On a PC with no BattlEye game installed, both commands fail with 1060. Read on 2026-10-02 on Windows 11 Home 25H2, build 26200.9457, sc query BEService printed [SC] EnumQueryServicesStatus:OpenService FAILED 1060: followed by “The specified service does not exist as an installed service.” If you see that with a BattlEye game installed, the service never registered, and the launcher needs to install it.

When the service exists, sc query shows its STATE. STOPPED is normal while no game is running, because BattlEye only runs with the game. sc qc shows START_TYPE. If that line reads 4 DISABLED, you have the 1058 problem whatever message the launcher printed.

The install and startup repair, in BattlEye’s order

BattlEye’s FAQ gives one procedure for five messages: “Failed to install BattlEye Service”, “BattlEye Service installation failed”, “Failed to start BattlEye Service”, “BattlEye Service startup failed” and “Failed to initialize BattlEye Service”. A launcher stuck at “Starting BattlEye Service…” points back to the same entry. Rockstar’s 1072 article and Epic’s (4, 50000005) article repeat it almost line for line. Do the steps in order and launch the game after each one.

Add security exceptions. BattlEye names two targets: BEService.exe and BEService_x64.exe in the game’s BattlEye folder, and the whole C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\BattlEye folder. In Windows Security that is Virus & threat protection > Manage settings > Add or remove exclusions, and Microsoft calls an exclusion safer than turning protection off. Rockstar warns that AVG and Trend Micro may still block GTA Online with BattlEye excluded, and its suggestion there is to disable them temporarily or use another antivirus.
Delete the BE Service folder. BattlEye says a permission problem in that folder causes the same errors. Delete C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\BattlEye and launch the game; the launcher installs a fresh copy.
Run the BE Launcher as administrator. Right-click the executable ending in _BE in the game folder, choose Properties, open the Compatibility tab, tick Run this program as an administrator and click OK. BattlEye says this normally happens automatically.
Make sure the files are there. BattlEye’s first-install entry says to verify the game’s files in its launcher, and to run the first install from an administrator account or a standard account with UAC enabled, so the launcher can ask for the rights it needs.
“Update failed” first? BattlEye downloads updates before the game starts. Allow the BE Launcher executable through your firewall without restrictions.
Find what is blocking it. BattlEye’s own last word is that unknown software, or a broken Windows, is in the way, and its definitive fix is a repair reinstallation of Windows. I would do two cheaper things before that. A Microsoft clean boot starts Windows without third-party services and startup apps, which tells you whether something you installed is the blocker. Microsoft’s System File Checker, run as DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and then sfc /scannow in an administrator prompt, repairs damaged system files.

For GTA V, Rockstar lists where the game’s BattlEye folder sits by default, which is the folder step 1 needs:

Launcher	Default BattlEye folder (Rockstar)
Rockstar Games Launcher	`C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto V\BattlEye`
Steam	`C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto V\BattlEye`
Epic Games Launcher	`C:\Program Files\Epic Games\GTAV\BattlEye`

Other games follow the same pattern: the game’s install folder, then BattlEye. BattlEye’s own example is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Destiny 2\battleye.

Failed to start BattlEye Service (1053)

Windows started BEService and waited, and the service never reported back. The Microsoft Q&A user’s Event Viewer had a second line that shows the wait: “A timeout was reached (30000 milliseconds) while waiting for the BattlEye Service service to connect.” The service sat silent for the whole 30-second window. That suggests something held it.

BattlEye’s own procedure puts security software first, and it is the cheapest suspect, so start with step 1 of the repair. Add the exclusions, delete the Common Files\BattlEye folder and launch again. If 1053 survives both, run the clean boot from step 6. A 1053 that disappears in a clean boot is caused by a third-party program.

Failed to start BattlEye Service (1058)

This one is mechanical. Windows will not start a service whose startup type is Disabled, and 1058 is Windows saying so. Confirm it with sc qc BEService; the START_TYPE line reads 4 DISABLED.

Do not “fix” it by setting the service to Automatic. BattlEye is built to start with the game and stop afterwards, so a service that starts at every boot is not its design. Remove the broken registration and let the launcher make a new one:

Open Command Prompt as administrator and run sc delete BEService. This is BattlEye’s own uninstall command.
Restart the PC.
Launch the game through its _BE launcher, which installs the service again.

Then find what disabled it, because it will do it again. BattlEye’s FAQ gives no reason a game would disable its own service. Tweak and debloat tools change service start types in bulk; the Windows 11 debloat guide covers what the two big scripts change. Check any “services optimizer” you have run.

Driver Load Error (1072)

1072 means Windows already holds a BEService that has been marked for deletion. Microsoft’s DeleteService documentation says the entry stays until every open handle to the service is closed and the service has stopped, and that if it cannot be stopped, “the database entry is removed when the system is restarted.” Until then, nothing can install a new one under the same name.

So restart first. Choose Restart, not Shut down. With Fast Startup on, Microsoft documents that a shutdown saves the kernel memory image, loaded drivers included, to Hiberfil.sys and loads it back at the next start. Microsoft’s fast startup troubleshooting article says “The Fast Startup setting doesn’t apply to Restart,” and that a restart still performs a full boot cycle. That article is written for Windows 10; I would assume the same on Windows 11 and pick Restart either way.

After the restart, Rockstar’s 1072 article for GTA Online and Red Dead Online is the generic repair: exclude the game’s BattlEye folder in your antivirus, delete C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\BattlEye, relaunch, and run the BE Launcher as administrator.

Driver Load Error (1450)

BattlEye’s FAQ has no entry for 1450. Microsoft’s meaning is that Windows did not have enough of a system resource to finish the request, and for BattlEye the request is loading its kernel driver.

Restart the PC first. If 1450 comes back right after a fresh restart, something that loads with Windows is holding the resource, and the clean boot from step 6 is the way to find it. Hardware monitoring and RGB utilities that load their own drivers are where I would look first, because BattlEye’s FAQ already blocks some of that category for using drivers with known security issues (side effects).

Driver Load Error (1275) and Hardware-enforced Stack Protection

This is the only bracketed code BattlEye fully explains. With error 1275, Windows also shows a popup saying BEDaisy.sys cannot be loaded because of “Hardware-enforced Stack Protection”. The feature’s full name in Windows Security is Kernel-mode Hardware-enforced Stack Protection.

BattlEye’s FAQ entry, which carries no date, says Microsoft started asking Windows 11 users to enable it, that BattlEye has since fixed its side, and that “the latest Windows 11 is still blocking any version of our driver whenever this feature is enabled.” It says it is waiting for a Windows update to unblock the driver. Until then, BattlEye gives two ways back:

Click Disable in the Windows popup and reboot.
Open Start, search “Core isolation”, switch Kernel-mode Hardware-enforced Stack Protection to Off and reboot.

On security, the two vendors disagree, and you should hear both. BattlEye says turning it off does not lower your security compared to before, because it is a new feature that was not on previously. Microsoft’s Learn page on the feature, filed under Windows Server 2025 but listing “Windows 11 2022 update or newer” as its first prerequisite, says it is off by default and that disabling it “downgrades the security of your device”, and that you can turn it back on in Windows Security at any time. Microsoft’s consumer Device Security help page describes the same On/Off toggle. The Learn page also lists the prerequisites: Intel CET or AMD shadow-stack hardware, and virtualization-based security with Memory Integrity enabled.

That last point is why I would switch off this one toggle and leave Memory Integrity alone. BattlEye’s 1275 entry names stack protection and says nothing against Memory Integrity. Whether to keep Memory Integrity on is a separate decision with its own trade-offs, covered in Memory Integrity on or off.

I read BattlEye’s entry on 2026-10-02 and cannot tell from it whether a Windows update has since unblocked the driver. The test is simple. If your BattlEye game launches with the toggle on, it has.

Kernel Debugging, Test-Signing and “Kernel modification detected”

Three launch errors are about how Windows itself was started.

Read this before any command in this section. Microsoft’s BCDEdit pages warn that changing boot options “could render your computer inoperable”, and that you might need to suspend BitLocker and Secure Boot before setting them. If your drive uses BitLocker or device encryption, have the 48-digit recovery key in hand before you touch boot settings. Microsoft lists where it might be, starting with your Microsoft account at aka.ms/myrecoverykey, and says its support staff cannot retrieve, provide or recreate a lost key.

“Failed to initialize BattlEye Service: Windows Test-Signing Mode not supported.” Check first. Microsoft says Windows shows a “Test Mode” watermark in the lower-right corner of the desktop while test-signing is on. If it is there, run Bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING OFF in an administrator prompt and restart. BattlEye adds that if a piece of hardware only works with signature enforcement disabled, you should look for a newer driver from its vendor, because BattlEye will not run in test-signing mode at all.
“Failed to initialize BattlEye Service: Kernel Debugging enabled.” Microsoft’s command is bcdedit /debug off, then a restart. BattlEye’s entry links to the same Microsoft page.
“Windows Kernel modification detected.” BattlEye says this means a cracked Windows or hack software that disabled Windows security features. Its fix is to repair system files and, failing that, reinstall from a legitimate copy of Windows. No setting fixes this one.

In-game kick messages

These arrive after the game is running. Each cause and fix below is from BattlEye’s FAQ unless the row says otherwise.

Kick message	BattlEye’s cause	Fix
Query Timeout	The client is not responding to queries from the server.	Check your connection and close unnecessary programs that could interfere with BattlEye.
Client not responding	Your connection or the server’s timed out or broke.	Update modem or router firmware, make sure Cucusoft Net Guard is not running, then check with your ISP.
Bad Client Version	The BattlEye client in the game folder is outdated.	Verify the game’s files in its launcher.
Bad Service Version	The BattlEye Service is outdated or not operating properly.	Check the launcher for update failures and close unnecessary programs. BattlEye’s last resort is a repair install of Windows.
BattlEye initialization failed	BattlEye is not properly installed, or file permissions are wrong.	Reinstall BattlEye, then delete the BattlEye folder in `C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\[game name]`.
Corrupted Memory #0	Low-level software performs a disallowed memory operation.	Close unnecessary programs. BattlEye names MSI Dragon Center and MSI SDK; uninstall both and reboot.
Corrupted Memory #X	The game’s or system’s memory is not what it should be.	Close programs, scan for malware, test your RAM.
Corrupted Data	The game installation is not what it should be.	Clean reinstall of the game.
Corrupted System Integrity	Core security functions of Windows are broken or corrupted.	Antivirus scan, system-file repair, then a repair install.
Kick asking you to restart the game	You clicked “Do not ask me again.” when the launcher offered to install BattlEye.	Run Install_BattlEye.bat in the game’s BattlEye folder.
“Found a disallowed program running on machine” (Epic)	A program BattlEye does not allow is running.	Close it fully, restart the game and reconnect. Epic says this is not a ban.

Two of these deserve more than a row. For Bad Service Version I would delete C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\BattlEye and let the launcher install a fresh service before considering a Windows reinstall; BattlEye’s description is literally an outdated or broken service. For Corrupted Memory #X, a proper RAM test settles it, and the MEMORY_MANAGEMENT guide walks through running MemTest86 so the result means something.

Side effects BattlEye documents

Stutter or freezes on every key or mouse press: BattlEye says this is typically malware or adware reloading into the game. Scan the whole system.
SpeedFan or another hardware tool stops working: BattlEye blocks software that uses kernel drivers with known security issues cheats can exploit. Update the tool or ask its vendor; BattlEye offers no exception.
Random applications get closed: BattlEye traced this to NVIDIA’s “(Ultra-)Low Latency Mode” and says to set NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Global Settings > Low Latency Mode to Off. The entry was written about Windows 10 users and carries no date.
Blue screen with BattlEye enabled: BattlEye says Driver Verifier causes problems with it. Microsoft’s command to clear Driver Verifier is verifier /reset, then a restart. BattlEye’s second step is a BIOS update. Follow your board maker’s own update procedure, and do not cut power or restart while it runs. If the crash names a graphics driver, the GPU driver crash guide is the better path.
"[INFO] Blocked loading of file" lines in the launcher: BattlEye says these never risk a ban and can be ignored if the game works. If they cause trouble, its checklist starts with a stray d3d9.dll, dxgi.dll or dsound.dll in the game folder, and the SYSTEM account needing full access to the game folder.

GTA V and GTA Online

Rockstar’s support pages add facts BattlEye’s FAQ does not have.

Story Mode does not need BattlEye. Rockstar says it only needs to be active for online play, and that depending on your platform you can change “the setting or launch option” to disable it for Story Mode. GTA Online needs it.
“BattlEye is required to play GTA Online. Please restart Grand Theft Auto V to enable BattlEye.” Rockstar gives two causes. Either BattlEye is disabled, which you fix by accepting the restart prompt or ticking the BattlEye checkbox in the Rockstar Games Launcher’s Settings, or you are on a Steam Deck.
Steam Deck: “Steam Deck does not support BattlEye for GTA Online.” Story Mode works there; GTA Online does not.
Community RP servers: Rockstar says official Community Servers do not require BattlEye, and their launchers disable it.
ReShade and Special_K: Rockstar says BattlEye does not work properly with them. The game still launches, but the mods are disabled during play.
Launcher names: Rockstar’s examples are GTA5_BE and GTA5_Enhanced_BE. Set the one you actually launch to run as administrator.

Rockstar’s pages that I read on 2026-10-02 say nothing about BattlEye kicking players out of GTA V Enhanced mid-session. I have no root cause to give you for that cluster of reports. The verified steps are the ones above, plus the repair procedure and Rockstar’s AVG and Trend Micro warning.

Other BattlEye games

Destiny 2 and Marathon (Bungie). BattlEye installs when the game updates. Bungie says that if you deny the install, Destiny 2 will not launch, and that uninstalling BattlEye or launching from the install folder instead of Steam, Microsoft PC or the Epic Games Store gives error PLUOT at sign-in. Error PLUM means BattlEye detected a problem that may break Bungie’s terms, and Bungie says PC players should also install the latest Windows update.
Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft). Error 0-0x00001001 means the connection with BattlEye was lost; Ubisoft says restart the game. Error 2-0x00019008 means BattlEye removed you from the match for inactivity; reconnect.
War Thunder and Enlisted (Gaijin). Gaijin’s support article reproduces BattlEye’s FAQ, with an Enlisted path as its example folder. The procedures above apply unchanged.
DayZ and Arma Reforger (Bohemia). Bohemia’s support pages say BattlEye bans are global across BattlEye-protected servers and are handled by BattlEye, not Bohemia, so a ban question goes to BattlEye.
Fortnite (Epic). Epic’s help center carries BattlEye articles, including the (4, 50000005) install error and the disallowed-program kick in the table above.

Seeing “Easy Anti-Cheat” instead of BattlEye? That is a different service with different fixes, covered in the Easy Anti-Cheat guide.

How to uninstall or reinstall BattlEye cleanly

On Windows, BattlEye’s service is registered under the name BEService. To remove it:

Look in the game’s BattlEye folder for Uninstall_BattlEye.bat. BattlEye says many games ship it, and running it removes the BE Service completely.
If there is no such file, or the game is already gone, open Command Prompt as administrator and run sc delete BEService. Microsoft’s sc documentation notes that if the service is running or another process has it open, it is only marked for deletion. That is the 1072 state, and a restart finishes the job.

Some games remove BattlEye themselves when you uninstall them, BattlEye notes. To put it back, launch the game through its _BE launcher. If you once declined the install, run Install_BattlEye.bat from the game’s BattlEye folder, which is where BattlEye’s FAQ puts it. Epic’s Fortnite article points to the Common Files\BattlEye folder for that file instead, so check both if one is missing it.

What not to do

Do not set BEService to Automatic. BattlEye runs with the game and stops afterwards. A Disabled service is the fault; Automatic is not the cure.
Do not turn your antivirus off as the fix. Add the two exclusions BattlEye names. Rockstar’s AVG and Trend Micro note is the narrow exception, and even there it says “temporarily”.
Do not paste bcdedit commands you have not checked you need. Look for the Test Mode watermark first, have the BitLocker key ready, and change one option at a time.
Do not trust a blog’s meaning for a “(4, …)” install code. No BattlEye or publisher page I found documents one. Run the install procedure.
Do not reach for a driver-updater utility. None of BattlEye’s, Rockstar’s or Epic’s fixes needs one. Epic’s article says to update drivers, and the GPU maker’s own download page does that.

Legacy FAQ entries

BattlEye’s FAQ still carries advice written for Windows 7 and early Windows 10 builds. I list it here so you can recognize it and skip it.

Driver Load Error (577): BattlEye ties it to SHA-2 signature support on Windows 7 and links a Windows 7 update. On Windows 10 or 11 BattlEye has no entry for 577; run the install procedure and the system-file check.
Corrupted Memory #0: the alternative fix, “updating your Windows 10 to version 2004 or higher”, is advice for an old Windows 10 build. The MSI Dragon Center and MSI SDK advice in the same entry still applies.
“Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file”: BattlEye blames unsupported Windows 10 Insider builds.
The NVIDIA Low Latency Mode entry describes Windows 10 users and no driver version, so I treat it as old and still worth one check if apps are being closed.

Sources

DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED or DEVICE_HUNG: Fixes in Order

LK Wood IV — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

A game that closes on a DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED box has lost its graphics device. Most of those boxes carry a second code, written as “with Reason”, “DeviceRemovedReason” or just a second hex number. That second code is the part worth reading.

It comes from a Direct3D function called GetDeviceRemovedReason, which a game calls after the device is gone to ask why. Microsoft’s GetDeviceRemovedReason reference lists what it can return: DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG, DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED, DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_RESET, DXGI_ERROR_DRIVER_INTERNAL_ERROR, DXGI_ERROR_INVALID_CALL and S_OK. Epic’s GPU crash guide for Unreal Engine shows what that looks like in a log: “with error DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED with Reason: DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG”.

Older guides say “D3D device lost”. That is a DirectX 9 term for a different condition, such as a full-screen game losing focus. Microsoft’s device-removed walkthrough explains that Direct3D 11 did away with it, and that the graphics adapter can still change or vanish under a game, which is what the device-removed errors report.

Read your dialog

Find the second code in this table. The definitions are Microsoft’s, from its DXGI_ERROR reference and the device-removed walkthrough.

Code	Hex	Microsoft’s definition	What it points at for a player
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG	0x887A0006	“The application’s device failed due to badly formed commands sent by the application.” The walkthrough adds that the driver “stopped responding”.	A GPU hang that Windows reset. The game, the driver, or clocks that cannot hold under load.
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED	0x887A0005	“The video card has been physically removed from the system, or a driver upgrade for the video card has occurred.” The walkthrough adds “turned off”.	A driver update mid-session, or the card dropping out. In every game, check power and seating.
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_RESET	0x887A0007	“The device failed due to a badly formed command. This is a run-time issue.”	Epic reads it as likely a crash in a different application. Close other 3D apps.
DXGI_ERROR_DRIVER_INTERNAL_ERROR	0x887A0020	“The driver encountered a problem and was put into the device removed state.”	The driver. Update it, or roll back if a new one started it.
DXGI_ERROR_INVALID_CALL	0x887A0001	“The application provided invalid parameter data.”	The game’s own code. Update the game and report it to the developer.

Two limits apply to that last column. Microsoft writes these definitions for developers, so “the application” is the game, never you. And Epic warns that reason codes “are not completely reliable”, even while it uses them to sort its own crashes. Use the code to pick a starting point. The scope test below decides the rest.

One reading holds across every code. Microsoft’s TDR overview says a well-written DirectX 10 or later app releases and re-creates its Direct3D device after a reset and keeps working. A game that shows this box and closes did not.

One game or every game?

This test does more than the code does. Run it before anything else.

One game, or one game since its last patch, while others run clean at the same settings. Start with steps 1 to 3 below. The game or its pairing with your driver is the suspect.
Every game that uses DirectX, and the desktop flickers or goes black too. That is a system fault. Work steps 4 to 7.
It started the day a driver installed. Microsoft lists a driver upgrade as one of the four ways a device gets removed. Go to step 2.

Then check whether Windows logged a GPU timeout at the minute the game closed. Press the Windows key, type powershell, press Enter, and paste:

Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='System'; ProviderName='Display'; Id=4101} -MaxEvents 5 | Format-List TimeCreated, Message

Event 4101 is the one Microsoft’s archived Event ID 4101 page gives, with the source Display, as “Display driver %1 stopped responding and has successfully recovered.” A 4101 at the time of the crash means the GPU hung and Windows reset it, which is the case Microsoft describes as “the graphics device stops responding and is reset.” The dialog is its second half. That archived page was written for Windows Vista and 7, and it still suggests raising the timeout in the registry; Microsoft’s current developer page overrides that, as the section on fixes to skip explains.

If PowerShell answers in red with “No events were found that match the specified selection criteria”, no timeout was logged. On Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.9457, read on October 2, 2026, the command needs no administrator rights.

The fix order

The order is mine, cheapest first, with the vendor behind each step named. Test the game after each one.

1. Restart, and close other 3D apps

EA’s Battlefield 6 error-codes page gives one instruction for DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG: fully restart your system. Epic explains why other programs matter. A GPU timeout “invalidates all currently running contexts”, so another program’s GPU crash takes your game down with it. Close browsers with hardware acceleration, video encoders, overlays and any second game before you relaunch.

If the crash never returns after a restart, you are done.

2. Update the game and the driver

Epic tells anyone reporting a GPU crash to use the latest driver and not to rely on Windows Update or even vendor tools to say it is current. Get it from the AMD, Intel or NVIDIA site. EA’s advice for AMD driver errors in Battlefield 6 is the same, with one addition: remove the old drivers first.

If the crash started with a new driver, roll it back instead. The clean removal, with AMD’s tools or DDU in Safe Mode, is step 1 of the GPU driver crash fix. On a Radeon card with DX12 crashes in Apex Legends or War Thunder, read that page’s September 2026 section first, which collects what AMD said about those two games.

Update the game too. INVALID_CALL, and a HUNG reason that only one game throws, both point at the game’s code by Microsoft’s definitions, and only a patch changes that.

3. Try the game’s DirectX 11 mode

AMD gave this workaround for one case: DX12 driver timeouts in Apex Legends and War Thunder on Adrenalin 26.8.1, as the GPU driver crash fix records. For other games it is my own suggestion. If the game offers DX11 beside DX12, switch for a session. A crash that stops in DX11 puts the fault in that game’s DX12 path or the driver’s handling of it, and you can keep playing while a patch arrives. The trade-offs between the two are in DX12 vs DX11.

4. Put everything back to stock

Intel’s DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG article was written for one case, Prepar3D v4 on a laptop with Intel HD Graphics 620. After a driver update, its next step is to correct unstable overclocking by setting voltage and speed to the system’s specifications. Stock means all of it:

any GPU overclock, and any undervolt, including one that ran clean for months
a factory-overclocked card’s boost profile, if its software offers a stock or silent mode
CPU overclocks, Precision Boost Overdrive and Curve Optimizer offsets
the XMP or EXPO memory profile

I count an undervolt that passed a benchmark as unproven here, because the crash comes in one game’s scenes and not in the benchmark’s. If you tuned the card with one of our guides, the way back is in the undervolting guide, the RTX 5080 undervolt guide and the RX 9070 XT undervolt guide. Play at stock for a few days. If the crash stops, bring the tuning back one piece at a time.

The same Intel article then caps the game at 60 FPS, tests the memory with a tool such as MemTest, and reinstalls the game as the last step. The frame cap is a cheap test on any game that crashes in its busiest moments.

5. Laptops: pin the game to the discrete GPU

Microsoft’s list of ways a device gets removed includes a system that “changes from a power-saving graphics adapter to a performance graphics adapter”. That takes two GPUs in one PC, such as a laptop with integrated and discrete graphics. Microsoft’s windowed games page gives the path. Open Start > Settings > System > Display > Graphics, select the game under Custom options for apps, choose Options, set Graphics preference to High performance, and select Save. Restart the game.

6. Desktop timeouts and blue screens go to the TDR page

If the Event 4101 check above found timeouts outside games, or the PC blue-screens with VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE, the problem is no longer one game’s dialog. The GPU driver crash fix works that path from a clean driver install down, and this page does not repeat it.

7. REMOVED in every game: power and the card itself

Microsoft’s walkthrough describes DEVICE_REMOVED as a device “physically removed, turned off, or a driver upgrade has occurred.” When it is the reason in every game, at stock clocks, on a fresh driver, I treat it as the card losing power or contact. Shut down, switch the power supply off at its rear switch, unplug the power cord, and touch a bare metal part of the case to ground yourself. Then reseat the card and push every power connector home until it latches. After that, use PSU failure symptoms to watch the 12V rail under load. If the card is vanishing from Device Manager afterwards, graphics card not detected follows it from there, and corruption on screen before the crash goes to GPU artifacts.

Microsoft’s walkthrough says repeated device-removed errors “can also indicate a hardware failure or a bug in the graphics driver.” Steps 1 to 6 cover the driver and the settings. What is left is hardware.

Two fixes to skip

The TdrDelay and TdrLevel registry edits

Older fix pages lead with a registry edit under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers. Microsoft’s TDR registry key page is written for driver developers, and it says “End users shouldn’t manipulate these registry keys.”

TdrDelay is the timeout itself, 2 seconds by default. Raising it gives a hung GPU more time before Windows resets it, and the clock, driver or power fault that caused the hang is still there. Epic’s Unreal Engine guide does set TdrDelay and TdrDdiDelay to 60 seconds, but that guide is for developers whose engine sends long workloads while they build a game, and Epic says the change “will not resolve all crashes.”

The TdrLevel edit is worse. In Microsoft’s table, TdrLevelOff (0) is “Detection disabled”. Windows stops looking for a hung GPU at all. The feature exists, in Microsoft’s words, “to prevent the entire system from becoming unresponsive”, so with it off, a hang that would have closed one game can freeze the whole PC instead.

Reinstalling DirectX

Microsoft’s DirectX support page says DirectX 11.3 and 12 ship with Windows 10 and later, that updates come through Windows Update, and that there is no stand-alone package. The DirectX End-User Runtime that fix pages link “does not change the version of DirectX”. It installs legacy libraries such as D3DX9 for older games. It cannot repair DirectX 12, and it does nothing for a device-removed error. Skip that download entirely.

Why the advice online disagrees

Four vendors explain this crash four ways.

Microsoft blames DEVICE_HUNG on badly formed commands from the application, and adds that repeated removals can mean hardware or a driver bug.
EA’s Battlefield 6 page says of DEVICE_HUNG, “This error happens when a background app is stuck.”
Intel’s DEVICE_HUNG page, written for Prepar3D v4 on Intel HD Graphics 620, runs from a driver update to clocks, a frame cap and memory, and its steps are all on the player’s side.
Epic’s list of GPU crash causes runs to content errors, engine bugs, driver bugs, overheating, running out of video memory and other apps.

They are each describing the slice they can see. Microsoft writes for developers, so the application is the obvious culprit. The other three write for people who cannot change the game’s code. Their steps are restarts and drivers first, then clocks. The fix order above follows the same split. The cheap player-side steps come first, a game update covers the developer’s side, and hardware comes last.

Game notes

Battlefield 6. EA’s error-codes page, updated August 11, 2026, says DirectX errors “can mean there’s an issue with your drivers”, asks you to check the game’s minimum requirements, and gives a full restart as the fix for DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG.

Unreal Engine games. Epic’s guide shows the log line quoted at the top of this page and says the reason is a separate field from the error code. It is written for developers, but the reading carries over. A DEVICE_RESET reason in an Unreal game means, by Epic’s account, that another application probably crashed the GPU.

Apex Legends on Radeon. AMD’s statements about DX12 timeouts in Apex Legends and War Thunder are dated and linked in the GPU driver crash fix.

For Baldur’s Gate 3, FiveM, Arc Raiders, Wuthering Waves and Monster Hunter Wilds, I found no publisher support page that addresses this error as of October 2, 2026. For those, the scope test and the fix order above are the route.

Sources

Game Mode On or Off? The Windows 11 Answer (2026)

LK Wood IV — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

TL;DR · Game Mode on or off

Almost every Windows 11 gaming PC: on. It is the default, and the 2025 and 2026 tests put averages within about 5 percent either way.
Ryzen 9 7950X3D or 9950X3D: on. AMD's core parking runs inside Game Mode.
Discord or a browser open while you play: on. That is where the 1% lows improved most.
CPU-bound game that loses frames, or a CPU-encoded stream that stutters: test off for that session.
Where it lives: Settings > Gaming > Game Mode, a separate switch from HAGS, V-Sync and your power plan.

Leave it on. Windows Game Mode is on by default, it changes little on a PC that runs one game at a time, and on dual-die Ryzen X3D chips AMD’s own scheduling depends on it.

The case for turning it off is narrow and real. Game Mode hands the foreground game priority over everything else, and in a game that already pins the CPU, or beside a stream encoded on the same CPU, that priority can take more than it gives. Those two cases are the reason to test it, and the table below gives the setting for the rest.

This page is about the Windows setting. A TV or monitor picture mode called Game Mode is a different thing on the display’s own menu, and the OLED TV as a PC monitor guide covers switching it on.

What Game Mode does

Microsoft’s support article for the setting is short. When you’re running a game, Game Mode “prevents Windows Update from performing driver installations and sending restart notifications” and “helps achieve a more stable frame rate depending on the specific game and system.” It notes that Game Mode is turned on by default.

Microsoft’s archived developer documentation, written for Windows 10 in 2018 and covering Game Mode APIs that were deprecated from Windows 10 version 1809, explains the second line. Game Mode works by “granting a game exclusive or priority access to hardware resources,” the game has to be in the foreground with focus first, and it works for most Windows games with no action from the player or the developer. The same page lists CPU core exclusivity and “increased GPU prioritization” among those resources, and it sets the expectation in one sentence: “The performance increase that comes from Game Mode is directly related to the number and impact of other activities running on the device.”

A PC with nothing else running has little for Game Mode to take back. A PC with Discord, a browser and a stream running has plenty.

Game Mode on or off, by PC and use

Your PC or use	Game Mode	Why
Typical gaming desktop or laptop, one game at a time	On	The default. The tests below show averages within about 5 percent either way.
Ryzen 9 7950X3D or 9950X3D (two dies, V-Cache on one)	On	Tom’s Hardware lists Game Mode among the four things AMD’s thread placement needs, and IDC describes the 9950X3D’s parking as working “within the Windows Game Mode power profile.”
Ryzen 7 7800X3D or 9800X3D, or any single-die chip	On	One die, so nothing to park (see the 7800X3D review and the 9950X3D vs 9800X3D comparison). The general case decides it.
Discord, browser tabs or a launcher open during play	On	MakeUseOf’s Forza Horizon 5 run with Edge and Discord open went from a 48.2 to a 71.5 fps 1% low with it on.
GPU-bound game at high settings	On, and expect no change	MakeUseOf’s Cyberpunk 2077 run moved from 82.4 to 82.9 fps. Game Mode cannot add GPU headroom.
CPU-bound game that loses frames with it on	Test off for that game	MakeUseOf’s August Ryzen 5 5600 test lost average and 1% low frame rate in two CPU-bound games with it on.
Streaming or recording with a CPU encoder	On, then test off if the stream drops frames during play	Game Mode favors the game over the encoder. PC Gamer’s 2017 runs showed a background video starved while the game held up.
Laptop on battery	On	Microsoft says Game Mode can be engaged in any power slider mode. Battery life is the Power mode slider’s job, a separate setting.
G-Sync, FreeSync or fixed-refresh monitor	On	Microsoft’s description of Game Mode says nothing about refresh or sync. That is the V-Sync decision.

The X3D row is the one with a real cost. Tom’s Hardware’s 7950X3D review lists the requirements as “a new chipset driver, updated BIOS, Windows Game Mode, and an updated version of the Xbox Game Bar,” and explains why Game Bar is on that list. Game Bar “detects games and triggers Game Mode” from a known-good list of titles, and AMD’s PPM Provisioning File Driver then parks the slowest cores “when Game Mode or Mixed Reality Mode is active,” which confines the game to the die with the extra cache. Turn Game Mode off on one of those chips and that parking has no trigger. The 9950X3D vs 9800X3D comparison covers the rest of that machinery, including AMD’s per-game compatibility list.

If a game on a dual-die chip does not trigger the parking, Tom’s Hardware notes you can add a game or program to Game Bar’s list from Game Bar’s settings with a single click.

How to turn Game Mode on or off

Microsoft’s steps are Start, Settings, then Gaming > Game Mode, and turn the switch on or off. On Windows 11 Home 25H2 build 26200.9457, read on 2026-10-02, the page’s breadcrumb reads Gaming > Game Mode, the switch’s description reads “Optimize your PC for play by turning things off in the background,” and the only entry under Related settings is Graphics.

That Graphics link is where hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling and Windows’ variable refresh rate switch live. They are separate settings with their own answers, and Microsoft’s description of Game Mode mentions neither.

Microsoft’s steps end at the switch and do not mention a restart. To test it, flip the switch, relaunch the game, and play the same scene both ways with nothing else changed.

What the tests show

No benchmark was run for this page. These are other people’s numbers, each from one or two systems, and the oldest comes from Windows 10 in 2017.

Publication, date	Hardware	Result with Game Mode on
PC Gamer, May 3, 2017	Core i3-7100 with GTX 1050 Ti; Core i7-5930K with GTX 1080	Budget PC minimum fps “20-30 percent higher” in some of six games. A background 1080p60 YouTube video went to stop-motion on the i3 and stuttered and froze on the i7.
XDA Developers, November 18, 2025	Ryzen 5 7600X, RTX 4070 Ti Super, 32 GB DDR5-6000, 1440p	Fortnite 165 to 170 fps, The Last of Us Part II 150 to 155, Hogwarts Legacy 183 to 188. Gains of 2.7 to 3.3 percent in averages.
MakeUseOf, July 12, 2026	Core i7-13700H laptop, RTX 4060 Laptop 8 GB, 16 GB DDR5, Windows 11 Pro 25H2, CapFrameX	Cyberpunk 2077 82.4 to 82.9 fps. Counter-Strike 2 1% low 142.3 to 154.6. Forza Horizon 5 with Edge and Discord open, 1% low 48.2 to 71.5.
MakeUseOf, August 1, 2026	Ryzen 5 5600, RX 5600 XT, 16 GB DDR4	007 First Light 64.6 to 61.8 fps (1% low 47.9 to 42.3). Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced 52.4 to 49.8 (36.8 to 33.3). Warzone 106.5 to 107.2 (79.4 to 82.1).

Read together, they agree on the shape. Averages barely move. The 1% lows move when something else wants the CPU, and they can move in either direction.

The two MakeUseOf pieces are a fair pair. The July laptop’s biggest gain came with Edge and Discord open beside the game. The August Ryzen 5 5600 desktop ran CPU-bound games with little to clear away, and its author concluded that Game Mode’s “reprioritization disrupted resource allocation on titles already maxing out CPU usage.” That is the one case where I would test off, game by game, rather than switch it off for everything.

PC Gamer’s 2017 result is old, from the Creators Update version that had to be enabled per game through Game Bar. Its warning still matches what Microsoft documents. Priority for the game means less for whatever runs beside it. A YouTube tab losing frames is a nuisance. A CPU encoder losing frames is a broken stream.

How it interacts with the other switches

Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling. Separate switch, separate page under Graphics. Leave HAGS on for any card that shows it. Change one switch at a time, because changing both at once makes a stutter impossible to attribute.

Power plan and Power mode. Microsoft’s power slider documentation says Game Mode “operates independently of the Windows performance power slider, and can be engaged in any slider mode.” It is not a power plan, and switching it on does not move the slider. The Ultimate Performance power plan page explains why Balanced stays the plan for a gaming PC.

Xbox Game Bar and background recording. Game Bar is the overlay on Windows + G, and on a dual-die X3D chip it is part of how Game Mode knows a game is running. Background recording is a different switch. Xbox Support says the Record last option needs background recording turned on, from Game Bar’s settings or Settings > Gaming > Captures. If a game stutters, MakeUseOf’s July tester puts drivers, overlays and background recording ahead of Game Mode on the checklist, and so would I. The stuttering guide works through that list.

Xbox mode. A newer Settings > Gaming entry. Microsoft describes Xbox mode as “a console inspired, dedicated gaming experience” for Windows 11 version 24H2 and later, a controller-optimized full screen shell. It has its own page under Gaming, apart from the Game Mode switch.

Memory Integrity. A separate Windows security setting, and Microsoft’s description of Game Mode does not mention it. Its on-or-off decision has its own page: Memory Integrity on or off.

Sources

Memory Integrity On or Off for Gaming? (2026)

LK Wood IV — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Leave it on. On a CPU from the last several generations the published tests put the cost in single digits, the bigger losses showing up in games where the processor is the limit, and from October 2026 Microsoft begins turning it on through Windows updates for eligible PCs that never had it. Two things can take the choice away from you. Riot Vanguard and FACEIT can refuse to start a match until it is running. And a CPU old enough to lack the hardware support Microsoft names pays more, which is the one case where I would test it off.

Memory Integrity on or off: the decision

Find your row first. The last column is what I would set.

Your situation	What the sources say	Set it
A Riot game shows VAN: RESTRICTION: 5	Vanguard could not verify that Memory Integrity is enabled and running	On, or the game will not let you play
FACEIT’s anti-cheat asks for it	FACEIT says you need it only when its anti-cheat specifically requires it	On
Intel Kaby Lake (7th-gen) or newer, AMD Zen 2 or newer	Microsoft says memory integrity works better with Intel’s Mode-Based Execution Control and AMD’s Guest Mode Execute Trap; tests on these chips found about 2 to 6 percent at 1080p	On
An older CPU without those features	Windows falls back to an emulation called Restricted User Mode, which Microsoft says will have a bigger impact on performance; I found no published game test on such a CPU	Test it off in your own game, and turn it back on if the gain is within noise
A CPU-limited esports game at very high frame rates	XDA’s CS2 run on a Ryzen 5 7600X lost 1.7 percent of average FPS, while its 1% lows were higher with it on	On, unless your own runs show a loss
An incompatible driver blocks it and no game requires it	Microsoft’s advice is an updated driver from the maker, or removing the device or app that uses it	Fix the driver; leave it off only if you need that hardware and no update exists

If you are not sure which CPU class you have, Windows will tell you. The check is further down.

What it costs in games: the tests that exist

I have not benchmarked memory integrity, so this section is other people’s measurements, with the hardware and date of each. Every one of them ran on a CPU that has the hardware support Microsoft names.

Test	Hardware	What it found with the feature on
Tom’s Hardware, October 9, 2021	Core i7-11700K, Core i7-10700K, Ryzen 7 5800X, Ryzen 7 3800X; RTX 3090; 1080p	VBS plus memory integrity cost 5.6, 5.7, 3.3 and 4.1 percent of average FPS (geometric mean). VBS alone cost 4 to 5 percent, so the memory integrity layer added little on these chips. Worst single result with VBS on was Red Dead Redemption 2 under DX12 on the 3800X, 8.6 percent slower
Tom’s Hardware, March 14, 2023	Core i9-13900K, 32 GB DDR5-6600, RTX 4090	Turning VBS off improved performance by up to 5 percent across the test suite and about 2 percent at 4K ultra. Microsoft Flight Simulator gained around 10 percent, with 1% lows up to 15 percent higher
XDA, September 14, 2026	Ryzen 5 7600X, RTX 4070 Ti Super; 1080p, low preset	CS2 averaged 398.2 FPS on and 404.8 off (1.7 percent). Cyberpunk 2077 averaged 183.1 on and 186.5 off (1.9 percent), with 1% lows 6.6 percent better off. In CS2 the 1% lows were 5.2 percent better with it on

Three patterns hold across all three. The loss is largest where the CPU is the bottleneck: 1080p, low settings, simulators. It shrinks as the GPU takes over, which is why the 4K ultra figure is about 2 percent. And the 1% lows move both ways from game to game, better with it on in XDA’s CS2 run and worse in its Cyberpunk run, so another PC’s averages cannot settle it for yours.

What none of them covers is a CPU that predates Kaby Lake or Zen 2. Microsoft’s own documentation is the only source on that class, and it says the impact is bigger without giving a number. If you are on one of those chips, the only figure that matters is your own: test it the way the HAGS page describes, three logged runs each way in the same scene, comparing 1% lows as well as averages.

Tom’s 2021 article also quoted Microsoft’s guidance to PC makers that some devices “especially sensitive to performance (e.g. gaming PCs)” may choose to ship with it disabled, with a recommendation to test thoroughly first. Microsoft later published a consumer page, Options to optimize gaming performance in Windows 11, that let gamers turn memory integrity and the Virtual Machine Platform off while gaming and on again afterwards, warning that the device “may be vulnerable to threats” while they are off. That page is retired. Its address now redirects to the Microsoft Support home page, and the last archived copy is from October 17, 2025. I would not treat it as Microsoft’s current advice.

When anti-cheat decides for you

Riot Vanguard (Valorant, League of Legends). Riot’s security requirements page says Vanguard “may require certain Windows security features” and that, depending on your system configuration, it may prompt you to enable one or more. It lists four: TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, Memory Integrity (HVCI/VBS) and IOMMU. The one that names this setting is VAN: RESTRICTION: 5. Riot says it appears when Memory Integrity is off, when virtualization is not fully enabled, or when a required BIOS/UEFI security setting is not configured correctly. The fix is the one below, then a restart. Other VAN codes are on the Vanguard error codes page, and the Secure Boot and TPM ones on the Secure Boot fix.

FACEIT. FACEIT’s Memory Integrity article opens by saying you do not need to enable it unless FACEIT Anti-Cheat specifically requires you to. The reason it can, from FACEIT’s security FAQ, is IOMMU, its defense against DMA-card cheats: “We require VBS to support IOMMU reliably on Windows.” The same FAQ says IOMMU is being enforced in waves, and concedes that IOMMU and VBS “can have a minor performance impact in some cases, particularly on older systems.”

So the requirement is conditional at both companies. If neither has asked you, nothing forces your hand. Easy Anti-Cheat’s support page says games using it “may impose additional security requirements on players which are controlled by the developer”, and the requirements it describes there are Secure Boot and TPM, plus IOMMU. Memory integrity is not among them. Its own fixes are on the EAC repair guide.

What changes in October 2026

Microsoft’s September 1 announcement says that “Beginning in October 2026” Windows quality updates will begin enabling memory integrity on eligible devices, and VBS too where it is not already on. Before it flips the switch, Windows evaluates readiness signals that Microsoft lists as hardware capabilities, compatibility and performance considerations. The post gives no day and no update number, so any date you read elsewhere is someone’s inference.

The exemption is one sentence: devices “where memory integrity has already been disabled won’t be automatically changed by this rollout.” Microsoft does not say whether a PC upgraded from Windows 10, where nobody ever touched the switch, counts as disabled. Its hardware documentation still says auto-enablement applies only to clean installs, not upgrades, which the September post plainly goes beyond. I would not assume either way. Check the state after each monthly update from October on.

The clean-install floor in that same document gives an idea of what “eligible” has meant so far:

Intel 8th generation or later from Windows 11 version 22H2, AMD Zen 2 and newer, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8180 and newer (Intel 11th-gen desktop chips are not in the default logic, Microsoft notes)
8 GB of RAM (on x64 processors), and an SSD of at least 64 GB
memory-integrity-compatible drivers, and virtualization enabled in the BIOS

That this switch would come through Windows Update is new. In 2023, Tom’s Hardware corrected its own article to say Windows updates did not enable VBS. Microsoft’s September post says that changes from October 2026.

Check whether it is on

Two ways, both from Microsoft and Riot.

Press Windows + R, type msinfo32 and press Enter. At the bottom of System Summary, Virtualization-based security should read Running, and Virtualization-based security Services Running should include Hypervisor enforced Code Integrity. Riot’s enable guide uses exactly this check.
For the CPU question, open PowerShell as administrator and run:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_DeviceGuard -Namespace root\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceGuard

Microsoft’s documentation decodes the output. A 7 in AvailableSecurityProperties means MBEC/GMET is available, so you are in the cheaper class. A 2 in SecurityServicesRunning means memory integrity is running, and VirtualizationBasedSecurityStatus reads 2 when VBS is enabled and running.

Windows Security also warns you. Since Windows 11 22H2 it shows a warning, on its taskbar icon too, when memory integrity is off, and you can dismiss it from inside the app. A “memory integrity is off” notice is that warning; it does not mean something broke.

How to turn it off, and back on

Open Windows Security > Device security > Core isolation details and switch Memory integrity off or on. It needs administrator rights and a restart. That is the whole procedure on a home PC, and the same switch brings it back.

My default is to leave it on. If you turn it off to test, write down what you saw and turn it back on unless the gain in your own game is clearly larger than run-to-run noise. Microsoft’s retired gaming page gave the same instruction, to turn it back on when finished playing, because while it is off “the device may be vulnerable to threats.”

Two warnings before anyone uses Group Policy. In Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Guard > Turn on Virtualization Based Security, Microsoft says to pick Enabled without UEFI lock. With Enabled with UEFI lock, turning memory integrity off later requires going into the UEFI menu and turning Secure Boot off, which is a change with its own risks; the Secure Boot fix covers that order. And the registry’s Mandatory value makes Windows refuse to boot if the virtualization modules fail to load. Neither belongs on a gaming PC.

Memory Integrity can’t be turned on

Incompatible drivers

This is the common one. Microsoft’s Windows Security help says that if memory integrity fails to turn on, it may tell you an incompatible driver is installed, and that the fix is an updated driver from the maker or removing the device or app that uses it.

On the Core isolation page, select Review incompatible drivers and note each driver’s name and publisher.
Check the maker’s site for a current version. FACEIT says these are often left over from old mouse, keyboard or RGB software, and Riot adds older anti-cheat and hardware drivers to that list.
If it belongs to software you no longer use, uninstall that software through Settings rather than deleting driver files by hand.
Restart and try the switch again.

To see every third-party driver at once, Riot suggests dism /online /get-drivers /format:table in an administrator Command Prompt. Microsoft’s hardware documentation adds where blocked drivers are logged: Event Viewer, Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > CodeIntegrity > Operational, event ID 3087.

The switch is missing, or VBS shows “Enabled but not running”

Memory integrity needs hardware virtualization turned on in the BIOS. On Intel boards Riot names the setting Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x), on AMD boards SVM Mode. Task Manager’s Performance > CPU page shows Virtualization: Enabled once it is on. If the Core isolation page itself says “Page not available”, Riot’s first suggestion is to update Windows. Changing BIOS settings carries its own risk, and Riot’s guide says plainly that a wrong setting can stop the PC from starting, so change only the virtualization option and leave Secure Boot to its own guide.

“This setting is managed by your administrator”

Something other than the switch is in charge. Microsoft documents that Group Policy, Intune and App Control for Business can each turn memory integrity on (App Control does so even in audit mode), and that deleting the WasEnabledBy registry value grays the switch out with exactly this message. On a work or school PC, stop there and ask the administrator.

On your own PC, Microsoft’s documented command to make the switch behave normally again is below. Registry edits can stop Windows from starting if you get them wrong, so create a restore point first and type the line exactly as shown.

reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard\Scenarios\HypervisorEnforcedCodeIntegrity /v "WasEnabledBy" /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f

It turns off after a restart, or a blue screen follows

Windows can have a safeguard for exactly this. Microsoft’s hardware documentation describes two registry values, recommended for PC makers’ Windows images, that make a device “automatically turn off memory integrity if the system crashes during boot, potentially caused by memory integrity blocking an incompatible boot-critical driver”, for up to three boots after it was enabled. If yours keeps switching itself off, a driver is failing. Find it in the CodeIntegrity log above and update or remove it before turning the switch back on.

If it turns back on after you switched it off, look for a policy: Group Policy, an Intune profile or an App Control policy, the same causes as the “managed by your administrator” message above.

If the PC will not boot at all after enabling it, Microsoft’s recovery steps run in this order. Before the first one, have your BitLocker recovery key ready: Microsoft’s BitLocker documentation says that when Windows RE is started by hand from a repair disk, the recovery key must be entered before the drive opens.

Disable any policy that turns on VBS and memory integrity, such as Group Policy. Microsoft lists this as the first step.
Boot the PC into the Windows Recovery Environment and open Command Prompt (Riot’s guide gives the path as Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt).

Set memory integrity off with Microsoft’s command:

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard\Scenarios\HypervisorEnforcedCodeIntegrity" /v "Enabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Restart.

If memory integrity was turned on with the UEFI lock, Microsoft notes that you also have to turn Secure Boot off to complete these steps; that is a firmware change with its own order, covered on the Secure Boot fix. Microsoft’s page, and Riot’s guide that gives the same command, do not explain how a command typed in the recovery environment reaches the installed copy of Windows rather than the recovery environment’s own registry. If the PC still will not start after these steps, stop editing the registry and take it to Microsoft support or a technician.

Once Windows is back, fix the driver, then switch memory integrity on again from Windows Security.

What Memory Integrity does

Memory integrity, also called hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI), moves the check that decides whether kernel-mode code and drivers are trusted into an isolated environment that the Windows hypervisor builds, which Microsoft calls virtualization-based security. Malware that reaches the kernel then has a much harder time loading its own driver. Core isolation is just the Windows Security page where the switch lives. The tests above show the cost landing on the CPU side: it shrinks as a game becomes GPU-bound.

For the other Windows settings gamers get told to change, see Game Mode on or off and Resizable BAR on or off.

Sources

RTX 5070 Ti Undervolt Guide: Settings and Results (2026)

LK Wood IV — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

By LK Wood IV · Published 2026-10-02 · ~10 min read · St. Louis County, MO

Start at 950 mV. In MSI Afterburner’s curve editor, lift the 950 mV point to the clock your card holds at stock, flatten everything to its right, and go 25 mV lower per test. Ten owner curves for this card sit between 850 and 950 mV, six of them between 900 and 935 mV. The best documented one is Esports Tales’ ASUS Prime: 935 mV at 2,955 MHz took Steel Nomad from 300 W to 250 W, games settled at 170 to 200 W, and the card ran about 4% faster.

Two things change how you read these numbers. The 5070 Ti sits at its 300 W limit in its heaviest games, so a lower voltage gives the boost algorithm room to clock higher, and several owner results are faster than stock as well as cooler. And every watt figure owners post is software telemetry, which ComputerBase found reading up to 15 W low on one card.

Eleven owner results, side by side

These come from owners in ComputerBase’s RTX 5070TI Undervolting thread (opened November 13, 2025) and its sister thread on the MSI Expert OC, from PCGH Extreme’s Undervolting 5070 Ti thread, and from the one author-measured test I could find, at Esports Tales. Each row is one owner’s card. The posts are self-reported, and “not given” means the owner did not post that figure.

Source, date	Card	Setting	Power	Result
Esports Tales, Mar 14, 2025	ASUS Prime OC	935 mV at 2,955 MHz (+450 core, +1,500 memory)	300 → 250 W in Steel Nomad; 170-200 W in most games	about +4%; fans 50% → 35-45%
albaum, Nov 14, 2025	ASUS TUF Gaming OC	900 mV set, 2,752 MHz held (+2,000 memory)	295 → 254 W in Steel Nomad	69-70 → 70-73 FPS; 70 → 65-66 °C
Nightlight 76, Nov 13 and 16, 2025	Gigabyte Windforce OC	890 mV at 2,920 MHz (+3,000 memory)	about 260 W	about 10% faster than stock; 62 °C max
TSB, Nov 16, 2025	Gigabyte Windforce OC SFF	875 mV at 2,767 MHz (+2,600 memory)	not given	under 65 °C in games, fans at most 40%
SabbY, Nov 13, 2025	not named	900 mV at 2,800 MHz	not given	fairly stable, he writes (translated from German)
onkuri, Nov 13, 2025	not named	925 mV at 2,950 MHz; also 875 at 2,700 and 800 at 2,500 (+1,000 memory)	not given	three saved profiles
Listo, Nov 22, 2025	not named	950 mV at about 3,000 MHz	often 200-220 W	not given
Der_Gerät, Jan 2, 2026	not named	925 mV at 3,050 MHz (+3,000 memory, 116% power limit)	235 W at most under full load; 155-200 W in games	stable for about a week
JPsy, Jan 11, 2026	Gigabyte Gaming OC	925 mV at 2,960 MHz	not given	absolutely stable with ray tracing and load changes, he writes (translated from German)
fuma.san (PCGH), Jan 4, 2026	Inno3D X3 OC	no curve; +350 core, +3,000 memory, 83% power target	300 → 250 W	about +6%
Ventus owner (PCGH), Dec 26 and 30, 2025; Jan 2, 2026	MSI Ventus 3X OC	850 mV at 2,617 MHz (+1,000 memory)	about 80 W less	about 3% slower; GPU 64-65 °C, memory 76-80 °C in games

The ten curve results with a voltage and a clock (onkuri counted at his top profile) run from 850 to 950 mV and from 2,617 to 3,050 MHz. Six sit between 900 and 935 mV. Three owners chose 925 mV, at 2,950 to 3,050 MHz. That arithmetic is mine. The clocks are set targets except albaum’s, which he read under load.

What I take from the table:

Two routes stop at 250 W. Esports Tales’ curve and fuma.san’s plain power target both landed there from 300 W. ComputerBase’s review of the TUF Gaming OC found 250 W (83.3%) is the lowest power limit on both the TUF and MSI’s Ventus 3X OC. If 250 W is your goal, the power-target slider gets you there without a curve. fuma.san says the curve only earned its keep for him below that floor.
Most of the saving comes early. albaum’s ladder dropped 28 W on the first rung, which also ran 92 MHz slower, and only 13 W more over the next four. The memory offset rose along the way, so the later rungs are not a clean voltage test.
The lowest posted gaming draws came at 925 to 950 mV. Der_Gerät, Esports Tales and Listo ran 2,955 to 3,050 MHz there and report 155 to 220 W in most games, though Esports Tales saw 220 W and more in the heaviest ones. Going deeper costs speed. Nightlight 76 tried 860 mV at 2,700 MHz and found the performance noticeably lower, and the Ventus owner’s 850 mV profile at 2,617 MHz gave up about 3% to save about 80 W.

SabbY’s warning belongs next to all of it. He set up several 5070 Tis for colleagues, found 2,850 MHz at 900 mV usually worked best, and watched that setting fail on the next model he installed. Your card’s number comes from your card.

What the RTX 5070 Ti draws at stock

NVIDIA rates the RTX 5070 Ti at 300 W Total Graphics Power, a 2.45 GHz boost clock and 8,960 CUDA cores, and asks for a 750 W system supply with either two 8-pin cables through the adapter in the box or one PCIe Gen 5 cable rated for 300 W or more.

This card has no Founders Edition. ComputerBase’s launch review used MSI’s Ventus 3X OC, measured on February 19, 2025.

ComputerBase measurement	Watts
Average across its Ultra HD game suite (telemetry)	265
Lowest game average, Final Fantasy XVI (telemetry)	211
Metro Exodus at Ultra HD, measured at the card	315
Load spikes in Metro Exodus	364
Doom Eternal capped at 144 FPS, Ultra HD	233
Doom Eternal capped at 144 FPS, 2560 × 1440	146
Windows desktop, 4K at 60 Hz	19
Windows desktop, 4K at 144 Hz	24

The Ventus reported 300 W in Metro Exodus while ComputerBase’s meter read 315 W, and the TUF Gaming OC in the follow-up test went the other way, reporting 300 W while it drew 295 W. Telemetry misses in both directions. A 10 W gap between two owners’ readings tells you nothing.

The stock clock depends on the game. In ComputerBase’s follow-up test the TUF Gaming OC held 2,700 to 2,707 MHz after 30 minutes of Metro Exodus. The Ventus held 2,707 MHz. In Final Fantasy XVI, which stays well under the limit, the Ventus ran 2,777 MHz. albaum’s TUF held 2,782 MHz at 1.035 V in Steel Nomad. Expect yours well above NVIDIA’s 2.45 GHz rating. Read it off your own card before you set a curve.

For a power supply, size for the card’s stock limit and spikes rather than the undervolted draw, because a failed profile load or a reset puts the card straight back there. The PSU wattage calculator does the build math, and the power cost calculator turns a 50 W saving into dollars at your rate and hours.

Why the power limit is locked on some cards

The board’s firmware sets the ceiling. In ComputerBase’s test, the Ventus 3X OC cannot go above 300 W at all, while the ASUS TUF Gaming OC allows up to 330 W in both its Performance and Quiet BIOS modes. Both go down to 250 W. A Gigabyte Eagle OC ICE owner in a separate ComputerBase thread reports the same 100% ceiling on his card.

A locked slider does not stop an undervolt. It needs no headroom above 100%. Der_Gerät’s 116% setting worked because his board allows it, and his card still peaked at 235 W. I would not flash a different BIOS to raise the limit. A curve is a software setting you can undo by loading a profile, and a BIOS flash is not.

What you need

MSI Afterburner. Esports Tales’ Prime, albaum’s TUF and fuma.san’s Inno3D were all tuned in it, so the maker of your card does not matter.
3DMark Steel Nomad. Esports Tales points out that the free 3DMark demo includes Time Spy and Steel Nomad, and albaum ran his whole ladder in it.
HWiNFO64 or another sensor logger, for the effective clock, core voltage, board power, GPU temperature and memory temperature. ComputerBase noted at launch that NVIDIA had stopped reporting a hotspot reading on Blackwell cards, so log the GPU and memory temperatures.
Two or three of your own games, including one light one. The stability section explains why.

The complete GPU undervolting guide covers Afterburner’s settings screen and ASUS GPU Tweak III, and the RTX 5080 guide runs the same curve method on the bigger card built on the same GB203 chip.

Step 1: Record a stock baseline

Run Steel Nomad three times with HWiNFO64 logging. Write down the score or average FPS, the effective GPU clock, the core voltage, the board power and both temperatures. Then save these settings to an Afterburner profile slot. That slot is your way back.

The clock is the number that matters most. albaum’s first attempt shows why. He flattened the curve at 975 mV with a 2,785 MHz target, and the card ran 2,690 MHz, drew 267 W and scored 68 FPS, below its stock 69 to 70. The target in the editor is not what the card runs. Only the logged effective clock tells you.

Step 2: Set the first curve at 950 mV

Press Ctrl+F to open the voltage/frequency curve editor.
Click the 950 mV point and drag it up to your stock sustained clock from Step 1.
With that point selected, hold Shift and left-click to select every point to its right.
Press Shift+Enter twice to flatten the selected points to that clock.
Click Apply in Afterburner’s main window. Check that the curve is flat from 950 mV to the right, and repeat the flatten if it is not.

That is the same-clock route. Esports Tales takes a faster one. He types +450 into the Core Clock field in the main window first, which lifts the whole curve, then flattens at 935 mV, where his Prime landed at 2,955 MHz. His reason for raising the clock first is to prevent instability while the curve is being edited, and he writes that “almost any card can hold +400”. A Gigabyte Eagle OC ICE owner who dragged a single point to 3,000 MHz at 0.95 V got only about 2,800 MHz at 259 W. The reply he got was the same order: raise the clock first, then level every point after the one you want.

The card drifts off the set point. At a 925 mV curve Esports Tales’ Prime ran 920 mV, at 950 it ran 955, and at 935 it ran 930. The clock moves 20 to 40 MHz, he notes.

Step 3: Go lower, then go faster

Test 950 mV (Step 4). If it holds, repeat Step 2 at 925 mV with the same clock, then 900 mV. That is albaum’s 25 mV step size, and Esports Tales also recommends starting between 900 and 950 mV, with 850 to 875 mV for readers who want the largest saving.
At the first crash or lower score, go back up one step. That voltage is your floor for that clock. Esports Tales’ fix for an unstable curve is to drop the clock 25 to 30 MHz, raise the voltage 25 mV, or both.
To trade some of the saving for speed, hold the voltage and raise the flattened clock in 25 to 50 MHz steps, the increment fuma.san uses for the Core Clock field. Stop at the first failure and go back one or two steps.
Add a memory offset last, and test it on its own. The table’s owners ran +1,000 to +3,000; Afterburner capped the slider at +2,000 when Esports Tales wrote in March 2025, and fuma.san says +3,000 works in the newest version. Listo and Esports Tales give the same warning. Memory pushed too far often does not crash, because error correction steps in and the frame rate drops instead. Compare your score with and without the offset.

Step 4: Test it properly

This is the step that decides whether the undervolt is worth anything, and the 5070 Ti threads show the same failure again and again.

Benchmarks only test the top of the curve. Steel Nomad runs the card at full load, so it only exercises the flattened point. fuma.san’s explanation in the PCGH thread is that a curve raised across its whole range can be unstable at partial load while it looks stable in every benchmark, because benchmarks always run the card at 100%. That shows up as random crashes. The owner who replied had exactly that, crashing in Valorant after following a video that lifted the whole curve. ComputerBase forum user Azghul0815 makes the related point that a flattened curve caps the clock at light load too, where an uncapped one can overshoot and crash.

So run all three of these before you keep a setting:

Steel Nomad, the same benchmark as your baseline, for the score and the watts.
Your heaviest games for an hour or more, with ray tracing on. Steel Nomad does not use ray tracing, Esports Tales points out, so he adds Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2 or another heavy ray-traced game to the games you play daily.
A light game, or a menu-heavy one, for an evening. An esports title at a high frame rate, or anything that holds the card well below full load, exercises the lower part of the curve.

Treat a crash to desktop, a black screen, a driver reset or a lower score than the step before as a failure, and go one step back up. SabbY adds that an undervolt can hold for days or weeks before a crash shows up, so if one game starts crashing weeks later, raise the voltage one step before you blame the game. A setting that hangs or resets the display driver can also look like a driver fault; the GPU driver crash guide covers that path once the undervolt is ruled out.

Watch the memory temperature if the fans slow down. The PCGH thread’s Ventus owner found his GPU cooler and quieter after undervolting, then noticed the memory reaching 76 to 80 °C in games because the fans were spinning slower. Gurdi, who wrote PCGH’s own 5070 Ti tuning guide, replied that on cheaper boards the cooler’s contact with the memory and voltage regulators can need a minimum fan speed. The owner steepened his fan curve to 70% at 65 °C, and the GPU fell to 61 to 62 °C and the memory to 72 to 74 °C, still quieter than stock. On a budget board, set the fan curve after the undervolt and check the memory reading under load.

Step 5: Make it stick

Only after the curve has passed Step 4:

Click the lock icon so the profile slots can be changed.
Turn on Apply overclocking at system startup.
Click Save and choose a profile slot other than your stock one.
Lock the profiles again.
In Settings, turn on Start with Windows.

That is Esports Tales’ sequence. Leave startup application off while you are still testing, because an unstable curve that loads at boot is harder to back out of. To undo it, load the stock profile.

One quirk to know about. A ComputerBase owner with an MSI Expert OC found his idle clock sometimes stuck around 2,600 MHz after a cold start, then settled back to about 180 MHz and 28 W after another restart. The suggestion he got was to apply the undervolt only to a 3D profile, or to load it when a game starts.

The plain power-limit alternative

If you want less heat and noise and do not want to manage a curve, fuma.san’s settings are the simplest result in the table. Set the power target to its minimum, 83% on his card, add the memory offset and test it, then raise the core clock in 25 to 50 MHz steps until it fails and back off one or two steps. His Inno3D went from 300 W to 250 W and ran about 6% faster. He reckons that gets you 80 to 90% of what the curve does, and the curve only pulls ahead below that 250 W floor.

Compared with the other cards

The RX 9070 XT undervolt guide shows the same pattern in ComputerBase’s Sapphire Pulse test: held at its power limit, that card turns a lower voltage into clock speed. AMD’s control there is a voltage-offset slider rather than a curve. The RTX 5070 Ti vs RX 9070 XT comparison weighs the two at stock, and RTX 5070 Ti vs 5080 covers the step up. Results for other cards, each with its source, are in the GPU undervolt settings database, which carries the Esports Tales row above.

PCGH has published a 5070 Ti tuning guide with an undervolting section, behind its paywall, and I have not read it. Of the results I could open, the Esports Tales run is the only one taken by a writer on his own card, and the rest are owner posts.

Sources

Esports Tales, How to undervolt the 5070 Ti with MSI Afterburner, Vincenzo Milella, March 14, 2025 (the author’s ASUS Prime RTX 5070 Ti OC; +450 MHz core and +1,500 memory; 935 mV at 2,955 MHz; 250 W against 300 W in Steel Nomad, 170 to 200 W in most games; about 4%; fans and temperatures; the Ctrl+F, Shift-click and Shift+Enter steps; voltages read at 925, 935 and 950 mV curves; the free 3DMark demo; the startup and profile steps). Read 2026-10-02.
ComputerBase forum, RTX 5070TI Undervolting, opened November 13, 2025 (albaum’s ASUS TUF Gaming OC ladder, posted November 14, 2025; Nightlight 76, SabbY, onkuri, TSB, Listo and Der_Gerät’s settings, November 13, 2025 to January 2, 2026). Read 2026-10-02.
ComputerBase forum, RTX 5070 Ti Expert OC – OC Scanner Curve vs. manuelles Undervolting, January 11 to 13, 2026 (JPsy’s Gigabyte Gaming OC at 925 mV and 2,960 MHz; the idle-clock report and the 3D-profile suggestion). Read 2026-10-02.
ComputerBase forum, Gigabyte RTX 5070ti, Undervolting Kurve wird nicht übernommen, January 16, 2026 (the Eagle OC ICE’s 100% power-limit ceiling; the curve that ran about 2,800 MHz instead of 3,000; raise the clock first, then level the points; Azghul0815 on the clock cap). Read 2026-10-02.
PCGH Extreme, Undervolting 5070 Ti, December 26, 2025 to April 16, 2026 (fuma.san’s Inno3D X3 OC at 83% power target, 250 W against 300 W and about 6%; the partial-load instability explanation and the Valorant crashes; the 25 to 50 MHz steps; the Ventus 3X OC owner’s 850 mV, 2,617 MHz and +1,000 memory profile with its 3% and 80 W, posted December 26 and 30, 2025, and the temperatures and fan curve, January 2, 2026; Gurdi on memory and VRM cooling on cheaper boards). Read 2026-10-02.
ComputerBase, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti im Test, page 1, Wolfgang Andermahr, February 19, 2025 (no Founders Edition, so the review card is MSI’s Ventus 3X OC; the GB203 GPU shared with the RTX 5080). Read 2026-10-02.
ComputerBase, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti im Test: Lautstärke, Temperatur, Leistungsaufnahme und OC, Wolfgang Andermahr, February 19, 2025 (MSI Ventus 3X OC; 265 W suite average and 211 W lowest by telemetry; 315 W measured against 300 W reported; 364 W spikes; the 144 FPS cap figures; desktop idle; 2,777 MHz in Final Fantasy XVI; the missing hotspot sensor). Read 2026-10-02.
ComputerBase, Asus GeForce RTX 5070 Ti TUF Gaming OC im Test, February 20, 2025, and its page 3 (the TUF Gaming OC at 2,700 to 2,707 MHz and the Ventus at 2,707 MHz after 30 minutes of Metro Exodus; the TUF’s 330 W ceiling in both BIOS modes; the Ventus locked at 300 W; the 250 W, 83.3% floor; the TUF at 295 W measured against 300 W reported). Read 2026-10-02.
NVIDIA, GeForce RTX 5070 family specifications (RTX 5070 Ti at 300 W Total Graphics Power, 750 W required system power, 2.45 GHz boost, 8,960 CUDA cores, the power connectors). Read 2026-10-02.

RTX 5090 Undervolt Guide: Curve, Power Limit and 12V-2x6

LK Wood IV — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Start at 900 mV. In MSI Afterburner’s curve editor, raise the 900 mV point to the clock your RTX 5090 sustains at stock, flatten every point to its right, leave the power limit at 100% and apply. Once that survives ten minutes of a benchmark and an hour of your games, try 875 mV. The reason to bother is in two owner results: one card at 0.895 V and 2,895 MHz matched its stock frame rates while peaking 75 to 150 W lower, and a Founders Edition at 870 mV and 2,572 MHz went from 579 W to 444 W for 4 to 5% less performance.

The power-limit slider is the blunter tool on this card. In ComputerBase’s test the Founders Edition lost 5% of its average frame rate at 450 W and 10% at 400 W, the lowest value it accepts.

I run an RTX 5080, not a 5090, so the curve walkthrough with my own card’s stock numbers is the RTX 5080 undervolt guide. Every 5090 figure below is someone else’s measurement, named where it appears.

What the power limit costs: ComputerBase’s Founders Edition

NVIDIA rates the RTX 5090 at 575 W Total Graphics Power and a 2.41 GHz boost clock. ComputerBase’s Founders Edition averaged 2,645 MHz while gaming at 4K, measured 578 W at 4K in its worst-case game, and spiked to 655 W for short moments in games. Then it capped the card and re-ran 19 games at 3840 × 2160.

Founders Edition setting	Average FPS, 4K raster	Against stock
600 W limit with +228 MHz core and +2,000 MHz memory	102.5	+4.9%
575 W, stock	97.7	—
450 W (78% limit)	92.6	-5.2%
400 W (69% limit, the lowest it accepts)	88.2	-9.7%

The average hides the spread. At 450 W single games lost 7 to 14%, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 lost the 14%. At 400 W, Space Marine 2 ran 28% slower than at 575 W while Final Fantasy XVI lost only 4%. Why? Final Fantasy XVI never pulls the full 575 W even unrestricted, ComputerBase explains, and Space Marine 2 does. A power limit costs nothing in a game that sits under it and a lot in a game that lives at it.

The same test cut an RTX 4090 from 450 W to 350 W, the same 22% reduction, and the older card lost about 2%. The 5090 gives power back at a higher price.

What the curve did on two owners’ cards

These are owner posts, one card each. Yours will land wherever its silicon lets it.

Card and setting	Peak board power	Frames against stock	Peak GPU temp
MSI Vanguard SOC LE (Aorus Master VBIOS), stock: 2,912 MHz, about 1.045 V	600 W	—	68 °C
Same card, 0.975 V at 3,052 MHz, +1,500 MHz memory	525-575 W	+3.2%	63 °C
Same card, 0.895 V at 2,895 MHz, +2,000 MHz memory	450-525 W	+1.8%	58 °C
Founders Edition, stock	579 W	—	77 °C
Founders Edition, 870 mV at 2,572 MHz	444 W	4-5% lower	68 °C

The first three rows are Panchovix’s on Overclock.net (March 2025), averaged over Monster Hunter Wilds, Forza Horizon 5 and Cyberpunk 2077, and his four 3DMark tests agree, averaging 2.0% above stock at 0.895 V and 4.0% at 0.975 V. Two things to know before you copy them. His card runs another board’s VBIOS with a 600 W limit, so his stock row is not a Founders Edition. And both tuned rows overclock the memory, which carries part of the gain. He uses the 0.895 V profile day to day.

The Founders Edition rows are an owner’s 4K results, with the power read in Port Royal and Steel Nomad, as GameGPU reported them on February 3, 2026. That is 135 W off the top. His 2,572 MHz is below the 2,645 MHz ComputerBase’s Founders Edition averaged at stock, so his curve gave up clock as well as voltage. I would flatten at the stock clock and keep it.

Put the two tables side by side. The 450 W limit took 125 W off and cost 5% of the frame rate, while the 0.895 V curve took a similar amount off its own card’s peak and still came out ahead of stock in all three games. That gap is the case for the curve.

The 12V-2x6 connector: what lower draw buys

Intel’s power supply design guide rates the 12V-2x6 connector to deliver up to 600 W, carried on six 12 V pins rated at 9.2 A each. A card pulling 575 W through the connector puts 47.9 A on those six pins, 8.0 A each if the split were perfectly even. It is never perfectly even.

One project measured it. astral-hwmon is a Linux driver that reads the per-pin sensors on an ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC, and its August 2026 captures give two points on the same card and cable:

CUDA burn: 581 W, 48.26 A total, 8.56 A on the busiest pin, 93% of Intel’s 9.2 A rating.
The Witcher 3 at 4K with ray tracing: peak 477 W, 38.2 A total, 6.82 A on the busiest pin, 74% of the rating. That is a game peak. GPU faults killed the game seven times, and the README notes most of the session was idle or menu load.

Neither capture is an undervolt. They show that on this card the busiest pin’s current falls with total draw. A curve like the 0.895 V profile above lowers total draw. So does a 450 W limit. I would count that as the main reason to tune a 5090 at all, ahead of the electricity bill and the few degrees the core loses, because at full load the measured card ran its busiest pin within 7% of the rating. It is still current, not contact. Different problem. A lower draw does nothing for a plug that is not pushed fully home or a cable bent hard at the connector. Seat it until it latches. The RTX 5090 power supply section covers the cable and the supply, and the 12V-2x6 pin current census collects per-pin readings from owners whose hardware can measure them.

Before you start

You need MSI Afterburner from msi.com (MSI warns about modified installers on look-alike download sites) and a monitor for board power, core voltage, effective clock and GPU temperature; HWiNFO64 logs all four, and the RTX 5080 guide’s tools section covers its setup. The version I would install and the route for each brand are in the complete GPU undervolting guide.

A curve is software. MSI’s guide notes that Afterburner’s reset button (Ctrl+D) restores the card’s defaults and keeps your saved profiles. The real risk is an unstable curve that crashes a game or the driver. Keep Apply at Windows Startup off until the curve has passed every test below, so a bad curve cannot load itself at boot. Flashing another board’s VBIOS, as Panchovix did, is not part of this method.

Step 1: Record your stock numbers

Play your heaviest game for 15 minutes, or loop a benchmark, with HWiNFO64 logging. Write down average FPS and 1% lows, then the sustained clock, core voltage, board power and GPU temperature under that load. That clock is the target. ComputerBase’s Founders Edition held 2,645 MHz at 4K; a factory-overclocked card holds more, like Panchovix’s 2,912 MHz.

Step 2: Set the curve

In Afterburner, press Ctrl+F to open the curve editor.
Click the 900 mV point and drag it up to your stock sustained clock. Do not set it lower.
Hold Shift, then drag from empty space just left of that point, above or below the line, all the way to the right. Press Shift+Enter twice and the selected range flattens, the method in MSI’s guide.
Click Apply in the main window, then save the curve to a profile slot.

The card can still drop below the flat line when it hits a power or temperature limit. Flattening caps voltage; it does not lock the clock.

Step 3: Test it, then go lower

Run a benchmark for 10 minutes. Then play. MSI’s guide uses that order, and it lists the failure signs: frame stutters, artifacts, worse 1% lows, a crash. On a 5090 I would test in the game that pulls the most power, the Space Marine 2 kind, because that is where the card runs at its limit.

Crash, black screen or driver reset: raise the voltage. MSI’s guide steps in 30 or 50 mV. A game that now quits with DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED points at the curve. If the error stays after you reset to stock, the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED guide reads the code and the GPU driver crash fix takes it from there.
Clock sitting under the line: check whether the card is at its power or temperature limit before you add voltage.
Stable for an hour of gaming: keep it, then try 875 mV the same way. Stop at the lowest point that holds, and step back up one for margin.

Step 4: Make it stick

Save the final curve to a profile. Then open the profile lock and switch on Apply at Windows Startup, so the profile loads every time the PC boots and you never run the card at stock by accident after a restart. MSI notes the button stays grayed out while the profile lock is closed. Check the curve after every driver install.

If you want a hard ceiling too

The Power Limit slider in Afterburner’s main window works on its own or on top of the curve, and MSI suggests trying 70 to 90% in 5% steps and rates the curve method slightly better. On a Founders Edition the slider stops at 69%, which is 400 W; 78% is 450 W. Panchovix’s 0.895 V profile still peaked at 450 to 525 W, so a limit set on top of a curve only trims the heaviest games.

A frame cap saves more than either in games that run past your refresh rate. ComputerBase capped Doom Eternal at 144 FPS at 4K and the Founders Edition drew 273 W.

What changes and what does not

Temperature falls with power: 10 °C on Panchovix’s card at 0.895 V and 9 °C on the Founders Edition at 870 mV. NVIDIA lists 90 °C as the 5090’s maximum GPU temperature, and both cards ran well under it even at stock.

The supply does not shrink. ComputerBase recommends at least a 1,000 W supply for the 5090 and 1,200 W for more room in an Intel system, and NVIDIA’s own figure is 1,000 W. A reset or a profile that fails to load puts the card back at stock, so size the supply for stock, the case the RTX 5090 vs RTX 5080 comparison covers. Results for other cards, each with its source, are in the GPU undervolt settings database, and the RTX 5070 Ti undervolt guide runs the same method on a smaller Blackwell card.

Sources

NVIDIA, GeForce RTX 5090 specifications: 575 W Total Graphics Power, 2.41 GHz boost, 90 °C maximum GPU temperature, 1000 W required system power for a Ryzen 9 9950X build. Read 2026-10-02.
ComputerBase, RTX 5090 vs. RTX 4090 bei gleicher TDP und RTX 5090 OC, Wolfgang Andermahr, January 23, 2025: the 575, 450 and 400 W ratings, 400 W (69%) as the lowest settable limit, the 7 to 14% and 28% per-game losses, the 2,645 MHz gaming clock, the +228 MHz overclock with a 600 W limit. Read 2026-10-02.
ComputerBase, Leistungsaufnahme und Effizienz, January 23, 2025: 578 W at 4K, 655 W gaming peaks, 273 W at 144 FPS in Doom Eternal, the 1,000 W minimum and the 1,200 W advice for Intel platforms. Read 2026-10-02.
Overclock.net, (Revisited) RTX 5090 Comparison: Stock vs 2 Undervolts vs Overclock, Panchovix, March 12, 2025: profiles, power, temperatures, the three-game and four 3DMark results. Read 2026-10-02.
GameGPU, Undervolting the RTX 5090 reduces power consumption by 100W with almost no loss, Maxim Boldson, February 3, 2026, reporting a Founders Edition owner’s 4K results. Read 2026-10-02.
MSI, MSI Afterburner Overclocking Guide & Undervolting Guide, Rick Novlesky, September 27, 2023: the curve steps, the 30 or 50 mV steps, the 10-minute test, the power-limit method and Apply at Windows Startup. Read 2026-10-02.
Intel, ATX Version 3 power supply design guide, revision 2.1a, PCIe add-in card connectors: up to 600 W, 9.2 A per pin. Read 2026-10-02.
astral-hwmon, reference measurements of 2026-08-14, ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC: 581 W, 48.26 A, 8.56 A busiest pin in a CUDA burn; 477 W, 38.2 A, 6.82 A peak in a Witcher 3 session that GPU faults interrupted. Read 2026-10-02.

Secure Boot Not Enabled: COD, BF6, Valorant, FACEIT Fix

LK Wood IV — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Call of Duty’s RICOCHET, EA Javelin, Riot Vanguard and FACEIT can all stop a game over Secure Boot. Each says so in its own words, and most of their messages do not say which of four different problems you have. Windows does. Open msinfo32 and read two lines, and the fix picks itself.

Two dates make this urgent. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 opens Campaign Early Access on October 16, 2026, with the full release a week later on October 23, and Activision says TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required to play it on PC. FACEIT’s new Windows 10 rule starts on October 14, 2026. It has its own section.

Find your error message

Each row is the publisher’s own wording and the publisher’s own explanation, copied from that publisher’s support page, and the last column is where the fix for that row starts further down this page.

Game or anti-cheat	What you see	What the publisher says it means	Fix
Call of Duty (BO7, Warzone, MW4)	Secure Attestation Wizard: “Secure Boot: Not Enabled”	Secure Boot requirement not met	Read msinfo32
Call of Duty	“BIOS Boot mode not set to UEFI” or “Boot Partition not set to GPT”	Secure Boot cannot run until the PC boots UEFI from a GPT disk	Legacy or MBR
Call of Duty	“TPM 2.0: Not Enabled”, or tpm.msc shows “Compatible TPM cannot be found”	TPM off in the BIOS, or not supported	The TPM half
Call of Duty	The enrollaik.exe prompt keeps coming back after you click Yes	AMD firmware 3..0. fails registration; the BIOS needs an update	The TPM half
Call of Duty	“TCG Event Log Failed”	Windows is not up to date	Call of Duty
Call of Duty	“Failed Attestation Status”	Requirements not met; Ranked Play and some playlists are restricted	Call of Duty
EA Javelin games, Battlefield 6 included	“The application encountered an unrecoverable error.”	Expired or unsigned drivers loading at launch; EA’s fix ends at enabling Secure Boot	Battlefield 6
Valorant, League (Vanguard)	VAN 9003	Secure Boot is not enabled	Read msinfo32
Valorant, League (Vanguard)	VAN 9001	Vanguard does not detect TPM 2.0 as enabled	The TPM half
Valorant, League (Vanguard)	VAN: STATUS_SB_POLICY, “The secure boot policy on this device could not be verified”	A Secure Boot configuration problem, even with Secure Boot on	Enabled but not active
FACEIT	“Please set Secure Boot preset to “Maximum Security” in your BIOS”	Some MSI boards’ default settings	Enabled but not active
FACEIT	“TPM attestation failed”	A discrete TPM, an old GRUB, a self-signed boot loader or an internet-cafe tool	The TPM half
Easy Anti-Cheat games	“Boot validation failed” or “Unable to verify Secure Boot”	Measured-boot problems	The EAC guide
Any PC, at power-on	“Secure Boot Violation” or “Invalid Signature Detected”	Firmware certificates too old for current Windows boot files	It will not boot

VAN 1067 is missing on purpose. Riot says it usually means Vanguard “ran into an unexpected issue while starting or checking in” with your system, and its fix list starts with Windows Update and unplugging controllers. It is not a Secure Boot error. The rest of Riot’s codes are in the Vanguard error code table.

Before you touch the BIOS

Three of the fixes below can lock you out of Windows if they go in the wrong order. Do these first.

Get your BitLocker recovery key. From another device, open aka.ms/myrecoverykey and sign in with the Microsoft account you use on this PC. If a key is listed for it, write it down. Microsoft’s list of events that send a PC to the BitLocker recovery screen includes a BIOS or UEFI firmware upgrade, clearing or disabling the TPM, changes to the boot manager and changes to the partition table. Every section below touches at least one of those.
Suspend BitLocker for the BIOS work. In an administrator PowerShell, run Suspend-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" -RebootCount 0. The 0 matters. Without it, protection resumes after the next restart, and BIOS work takes several. If your Windows disk is MBR, the conversion section asks for encryption to be off rather than suspended, so read it before you choose. Either way, the last section turns protection back on.
Back up anything you would miss. GIGABYTE puts this in its own preparation list, and Riot says the disk conversion “cannot be reversed”.

Read msinfo32 first

Press Windows+R, type msinfo32 and press Enter. On the System Summary page, find BIOS Mode and Secure Boot State. Riot’s, EA’s and FACEIT’s Secure Boot guides start here, and so do MSI’s and GIGABYTE’s.

BIOS Mode	Secure Boot State	What it means	Go to
UEFI	On	Secure Boot is fine. A remaining error is the TPM, attestation or the game	The TPM half
UEFI	Off	The disk is ready. Flip one switch	UEFI, Secure Boot off
Legacy	Off or Unsupported	The disk has to be converted before anything else	Legacy or MBR
UEFI	Unsupported	A board or firmware limit	State Unsupported

The same answer is available in PowerShell. Microsoft documents that Confirm-SecureBootUEFI returns True when Secure Boot is on, False when it is off, and “Cmdlet not supported on this platform” on a BIOS (non-UEFI) computer. It needs an administrator window; without one it answers “Unable to set proper privileges. Access was denied.”

Also check the disk. Open Disk Management, right-click the disk that holds Windows, choose Properties and open the Volumes tab. Partition style reads GPT or MBR. MBR changes the plan.

Legacy or MBR: convert the disk first

This is the step that stops Windows from booting when it goes wrong. Read it twice. If you switch the BIOS to UEFI, or turn CSM off, while the Windows disk is still MBR, Windows will not boot. MSI and GIGABYTE say so, and so does Riot. Riot’s version: “You must convert MBR > GPT before changing anything in BIOS.”

Microsoft’s MBR2GPT tool converts the system disk in place without deleting data. It refuses to run unless the disk passes its checks, including at most three primary partitions, no extended or logical partition, and room for the GPT tables. Riot and Activision add their own conditions: Windows 10 version 1703 or later, 64-bit Windows, no dual boot, firmware that supports UEFI, and Secure Boot off.

Encryption needs a decision first. Microsoft says MBR2GPT converts a BitLocker volume as long as protection is suspended, but to resume BitLocker afterwards the existing protectors have to be deleted and recreated. Activision’s and Riot’s checklists say BitLocker or any other encryption must be turned off, and Microsoft’s return code 6 is a conversion that failed because a volume on the disk is encrypted. I would follow Activision and Riot. In an administrator PowerShell, Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" removes all key protectors and starts decrypting the drive. Let it finish before you run the conversion.

Decrypting leaves the drive unprotected until you encrypt it again, which is the last step of this page, once Secure Boot reads On. Do not skip it.

Then, in an administrator Command Prompt:

mbr2gpt /validate /allowFullOS
mbr2gpt /convert /allowFullOS

Run the validate line alone first. It changes nothing. It only reports whether the disk can be converted. Without /disk:, both lines act on the system disk. Microsoft lists return code 0 as “Conversion completed successfully”; anything else is a failure with its own meaning in Microsoft’s table.

Riot’s next instruction is to go straight into the BIOS rather than booting Windows. Change Boot Mode from Legacy or CSM to UEFI, disable CSM if that option exists and save. Then confirm Windows starts. Only then turn on Secure Boot, which is the next section.

UEFI with Secure Boot off: switch it on

To get into the firmware from Windows 11, open Settings > System > Recovery and select Restart now beside Advanced startup. Then pick Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings. The CPU temperature guide walks the same route. Activision lists Del, F2 or F10 at power-on as the other way in.

The switch has a different name on every board. These paths come from each vendor’s own page:

ASUS desktop boards. Press Delete, open Advanced Mode, then Boot, Secure Boot, and set OS Type to Windows UEFI mode. ASUS’s own table says Other OS means Secure Boot state is off. The Secure Boot State line is grey and cannot be set by hand.
MSI (MAG B550 TOMAHAWK as MSI’s example). Open Settings, Advanced, Windows OS Configuration and switch BIOS CSM/UEFI Mode to UEFI. MSI says the Secure Boot option only appears after that. Enable it, press F10 and reboot.
GIGABYTE (AM4 and sTRX4). Open Advanced Mode, Boot, and set CSM Support to Disabled, which makes the Secure Boot menu appear. Under Secure Boot, set Secure Boot Mode to Custom and choose Restore Factory Keys. Answer Yes to “Install Factory Defaults” and Yes to “Reset Without Saving”. Back in the BIOS, the field under Secure Boot should read Active.

For an ASRock or Biostar board, or a Dell, HP or Lenovo PC, use the manual. Activision’s and EA’s articles both link each manufacturer’s own Secure Boot page.

Save with F10, boot into Windows and run msinfo32 again. Secure Boot State should now read On.

Enabled in the BIOS but not active

This case confuses people because the BIOS says Enabled, msinfo32 says Off, and the game keeps refusing to start even after a cold boot and a second look at every menu. The switch is on. The thing it switches is not running. Work these in order:

CSM is still on. Secure Boot cannot run in a Legacy or CSM boot, and on GIGABYTE and MSI boards the Secure Boot menu is hidden until CSM is off. msinfo32 showing BIOS Mode Legacy confirms it. Go back to Legacy or MBR before you change it.
The keys are missing or wrong. ASUS’s fix for a “Not Active” status on desktops is Key Management, Clear Secure Boot Keys, confirm with Yes, then Install Default Secure Boot Keys. On GIGABYTE it is the Restore Factory Keys step in the list above.
The ASUS setting is Other OS. On ASUS desktop boards, the Secure Boot toggle is OS Type, and ASUS says Other OS means Secure Boot state is off.
Vanguard says STATUS_SB_POLICY. Riot says to reset the Secure Boot keys even when Secure Boot is enabled, so that Vanguard can verify the device. That is step 2 again.
FACEIT asks for “Maximum Security”. FACEIT says some MSI boards have a known issue where Secure Boot does not work properly with its default settings, even when it shows as Enabled in both the BIOS and Windows. On a recent MSI BIOS, open Settings, Security, Secure Boot, set Secure Boot Mode to Custom and Secure Boot Preset to Maximum Security. On an older BIOS without that preset, FACEIT’s path is Image Execution Policy, with Removable Media and Fixed Media set to Deny Execute. FACEIT says to update the BIOS if neither option exists.
The firmware is old. Easy Anti-Cheat’s “Unable to verify Secure Boot. Event missing from measured bootlog” kick means no event in the measured boot log confirms Secure Boot, and EAC’s fix is the latest BIOS version for the system. The EAC guide has its boot-validation messages.

Secure Boot State Unsupported

Read the BIOS Mode line beside it. Legacy with Unsupported is the Legacy case, and Riot’s guide sends both “Off” and “Unsupported” there.

UEFI with Unsupported is rarer. EA says to check the motherboard’s specification sheet or manual to see whether Secure Boot is supported. GIGABYTE says that missing fTPM or Secure Boot options can mean an unsupported processor or an incompatible BIOS version, and recommends updating the BIOS. If no update adds it, the board is out. FACEIT says as much about TPM 2.0, and adds that most CPUs and motherboards from the last decade include a firmware TPM.

The TPM half

Secure Boot gets the headlines. Four of the errors in the table are the TPM’s, and none of them clears until tpm.msc reports a TPM that Windows can use. Press Windows+R, type tpm.msc and press Enter. Activision and FACEIT both want Status to read “The TPM is ready for use”, and FACEIT adds that Specification Version should be 2.0. FACEIT also checks Windows Security, Device security, Security processor details, where Attestation and Storage should both read Ready.

“Compatible TPM cannot be found” means the TPM is off in the BIOS or missing. The firmware TPM has a vendor name. Intel calls it PTT, AMD calls it fTPM, and Activision’s floor is Intel 8th gen with PTT or Ryzen 2000 with fTPM. The vendor paths:

GIGABYTE AM4. Advanced Mode, Settings, AMD CPU fTPM, set to Enabled.
MSI (B550 TOMAHAWK example). Settings, Security, Trusted Computing, then enable Security Device Support.
Others. FACEIT says the option usually sits under “Security” or “Trusted Computing”.

Then check the firmware version. In tpm.msc, read Manufacturer Version under TPM Manufacturer Information. Activision says AMD versions matching 3.*.0.* are not compatible with its games and need a firmware update: 3.92.0.5 fails, 3.92.5.5 is fine. That issue can make the enrollaik.exe prompt reappear after you click Yes. For Intel, Activision flags INTC 302.12.*.* and INTC 303.12.*.* as possibly needing a firmware update. In MSI’s B550 TOMAHAWK example, the BIOS update moves AMD fTPM to 3.94.2.5. On Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.9457, read 2026-10-02, tpmtool getdeviceinformation runs without administrator rights and prints a line labelled TPM Manufacturer Version.

FACEIT’s page on “TPM attestation failed” lists four known causes and a general fallback:

A discrete TPM module on the board. Switch the BIOS from dTPM to fTPM.
An old GRUB in a dual boot. Boot Windows from the firmware boot menu instead, and update GRUB if that clears it.
A self-signed boot loader. Pick Windows Boot Manager from the boot menu.
CCU Cloud Update in an internet cafe. FACEIT sends that one to CCU’s support.
Anything else. Update the BIOS.

Call of Duty and Modern Warfare 4

Activision’s TPM article says TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required to play Black Ops 7 and Warzone, and its Modern Warfare 4 PC requirements page says the same for MW4. The MW4 dates are on Call of Duty’s September 29, 2026 PC post: PC preload from October 15, Campaign Early Access from October 16, full release October 23.

Two Activision pages disagree on hardware. That matters. The MW4 minimum spec lists an AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or Intel Core i5-6600. Activision’s TPM article sets the TPM floor at Ryzen 2000 series with fTPM or Intel 8th gen with PTT. Both minimum-spec chips are older than that floor. On one of them, run Activision’s Secure Attestation Wizard (version 1.2.0, updated September 16, 2026) before October 16 rather than finding out at the menu. The operating system floor is clearer: Windows 10 version 22H2 or later, or any Windows 11.

The rest of the Call of Duty messages:

“TCG Event Log Failed”: restart and install the latest Windows update.
“Authorization Key Failed”: the wizard’s Generate Key button triggers a UAC prompt for enrollaik.exe; select Yes.
A CODBrokerInstaller.exe UAC prompt on first launch needs an administrator username and password and Yes. Selecting No means you cannot play. If you get “CODBrokerInstaller.exe authorization declined” with no prompt at all, Activision’s fix is the User Account Control slider: set it to Always notify or the default level below it.
“Failed Attestation Status”: Activision restricts the account from some modes, including Ranked Play, and may matchmake it with other players who do not meet the requirements.

Battlefield 6 and EA Javelin

EA’s Battlefield 6 launch post says that to play Battlefield 6 on PC, you must enable Secure Boot, so that EA’s Javelin Anticheat can detect and remove cheaters. The game’s system requirements list TPM 2.0 Enabled and UEFI Secure Boot Enabled at both minimum and recommended. EA’s Secure Boot article says “Some EA games require Secure Boot”, and lists the same prerequisites as everyone else: TPM 2.0 on, a GPT Windows disk and UEFI. Its msinfo32 triage matches the table above. EA’s MBR2GPT lines add /disk:0, and EA notes that the number must match the disk number in your own Disk Management.

For “The application encountered an unrecoverable error.”, EA says it can happen when expired or unsigned drivers load as the game launches. Restart and relaunch first. If it comes back, EA’s next step is enabling Secure Boot. Javelin itself needs Windows 10 20H1 (10.0.19041) or newer.

Valorant and Riot Vanguard

Riot’s codes are tidy. VAN 9003 is Secure Boot off, VAN 9001 is TPM 2.0 not detected, and VAN: STATUS_SB_POLICY is a Secure Boot configuration problem fixed by resetting the keys. Riot’s own Secure Boot guide follows the order on this page and is blunt about step 2: “If you try to force UEFI in your BIOS without converting your drive first, your Windows won’t boot!”

A Vanguard kick with Secure Boot already On points somewhere else. Riot sends that case to its VAN: RESTRICTION guide. The VBS and Memory Integrity side of those restrictions is covered in Memory Integrity on or off, and every other code is in the Vanguard error code table.

FACEIT on Windows 10

FACEIT’s FAQ, updated October 1, 2026, sets the rule. From October 14, 2026, Windows 10 needs version 22H2 with Extended Security Updates enabled. Windows 11 becomes the requirement after Windows 10 support ends in October 2027, although FACEIT adds that some devices may have to upgrade sooner, depending on several configuration factors it does not list. Check the FAQ again before October 14.

On Windows 10, three checks before October 14:

Version. Press Windows+R and run winver. FACEIT’s page on missing security updates supports Windows 10 builds 22H2 (19045) and higher.
ESU. Microsoft’s consumer ESU program runs to October 12, 2027. Open Settings, Update & Security, Windows Update and select Enroll now if your PC qualifies. Microsoft lists three ways in: free if you sync your PC settings, 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or a one-time $30 purchase.
Security features. FACEIT’s Enabling Secure Boot and Enabling TPM 2.0 pages require both for all players on Windows 10 and 11. It is enforcing IOMMU in waves, and it requires VBS to support IOMMU. Secure Boot and TPM are above. The VBS decision is in Memory Integrity on or off.

If FACEIT says your system is missing important Windows security updates, its fix is Windows Update, and on Windows 10 that means ESU.

If the PC will not boot after the change

Do not reinstall Windows. Go back into the BIOS and undo the last change. GIGABYTE’s recovery is to disable Secure Boot, or set CSM Support back to Enabled, to restore the previous state. FACEIT’s order is the same: revert, update the BIOS, then re-enable one feature at a time.

The usual cause is the MBR disk. FACEIT says boot failures after enabling Secure Boot are “usually caused by a mismatched partition scheme (UEFI with MBR)”. Convert with mbr2gpt, then switch to UEFI, then turn on Secure Boot.

A “Secure Boot Violation” or “Invalid Signature Detected” screen is different. FACEIT says the board’s Secure Boot certificates are too old to recognize recent Windows boot files. Its fix is to turn Secure Boot off long enough to boot, update the BIOS, which brings the 2023 Microsoft certificates, and turn Secure Boot back on. FACEIT notes that a BIOS update sometimes fails to install the new certificates. For a board already on its latest BIOS with the error still there, FACEIT describes copying Microsoft’s SecureBootRecovery.efi from C:\Windows\Boot\EFI to a FAT32 USB stick as EFI\BOOT\bootx64.efi and booting from it to apply the certificates. FACEIT says modifying Secure Boot settings is done at your own risk, and recommends a professional IT technician if you are uncomfortable with these steps.

One myth to drop. The certificate expiry does not switch Secure Boot off by itself. Microsoft says a device without the new certificates “will still start and operate normally”, and that Secure Boot “should not be disabled to work around certificate expiration”.

If BitLocker asks for the recovery key on the first boot afterwards, that is the key from the first step. Enter it and let Windows start.

After Secure Boot reads On: protect the drive again

Run msinfo32 one more time. With Secure Boot State reading On, put the encryption back the way you found it.

You suspended BitLocker. Run Resume-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" in an administrator PowerShell. Microsoft says the cmdlet has no effect on a volume that is not suspended, so it does nothing for a drive you decrypted.
You turned BitLocker off for the conversion, on Windows Pro. Sign in as an administrator, type BitLocker in Start and select Manage BitLocker, then select Turn on BitLocker beside the drive. Microsoft’s steps then ask how the drive should open at startup, and for a backup of the recovery key. The key is new. Save it again.
You turned Device Encryption off, on Windows Home. Open Settings, Privacy & security, Device encryption, and use the toggle to turn it On. Microsoft notes that the entry is missing if the device does not support it or you are signed in with a standard account.

Sources

Windows 11 Not Detecting a Second Monitor: Find the Cause

LK Wood IV — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

By LK Wood IV · 2026-10-02 · ~9 min read · St. Louis County, MO

A second monitor that Windows 11 will not list has a short list of causes, and most of them sit outside Windows. The cable is in a port that nothing drives, an adapter faces the wrong way, a splitter sits in the path, or the laptop’s USB-C port carries no video. Drivers are on the list too. They belong near the bottom.

The first screen still works. That gives you a desktop to test from, and four things you can read on it will name the cause before you move a cable or reinstall anything.

This page is for a second screen that stays dark while the first one works. If your only screen is black, start with monitor says No Signal. If a screen works and then cuts to black, read monitor keeps going black.

Start on the screen that works

The names below are the labels in Windows 11 Home 25H2, build 26200.9457, read on September 29, 2026.

Press Windows key + P. A panel named Project opens with four choices, PC screen only, Duplicate, Extend and Second screen only. If PC screen only is selected, Windows has been told to ignore the second screen. Choose Extend. Microsoft’s troubleshooting page opens with the same key.
Open Settings, then System, then Display. Microsoft’s multiple-monitor guide says Windows numbers each display, and offers to rearrange them, once it detects more than one. Two numbered displays mean Windows has the monitor.
If no displays are numbered, expand Multiple displays and select Detect. With one screen connected, that build numbers none, and Detect prints “We didn’t find another display.” under the button. I take that sentence as Windows saying no graphics adapter in the PC reports a monitor on any other output.
Open Device Manager and expand Monitors, then Display adapters. Microsoft’s driver documentation says Windows represents each video output that has a connected monitor as a device, so I count the entries under Monitors. On a laptop, expect the built-in panel to be listed too.

Then look at the second monitor itself. A lit power light and a No Signal message mean the panel is alive and is getting no picture on the input it is set to. No light at all usually points to power. Windows has no part in that. Whatever Windows showed, set the monitor to the input the cable is plugged into before you go further.

What each result points to

What you found	The cause and where to go
Project was set to PC screen only	The display mode. Choosing Extend was the fix.
Two numbered displays in Settings, second screen dark	Windows has the monitor and is not using it. See Windows lists the monitor.
“We didn’t find another display” on a desktop with a graphics card	Rule out first a cable in a port that nothing drives. See the motherboard port.
The same message with an adapter, a converter cable or a splitter in the path	The adapter’s direction or type. See adapters and splitters.
The same message on a laptop’s USB-C port, a hub or a dock	The port carries no video, or the dock needs its driver. See USB-C and docks.
Two screens work and a third or fourth will not appear	The graphics adapter’s display limit. See the display limit.
It worked until a Windows or driver update	The display driver. See after an update.
Detected at startup, lost after the PC sleeps	Often DisplayPort’s hot-plug behavior on wake. See the after-sleep section of monitor keeps going black.

Windows lists the monitor and the screen stays dark

Two numbered displays in Settings, or a second entry under Monitors, mean the PC has found the monitor, so what is left is how Windows is using it and which input the monitor is showing.

Select display 2. Dell’s multi-monitor guide lists the choices in the display drop-down as Duplicate these displays, Extend these displays, Show only on 1 and Show only on 2. Pick Extend these displays, select Apply, then Keep changes.

If the desktop is extended and the panel is still dark, go back to the monitor. Dell’s answer for a No Signal message is to select the correct input source on the monitor and check the cable connections, which in practice means using the monitor’s own buttons to choose the input the cable is plugged into, then reseating the cable.

If Advanced display says “Display 2 isn’t active”, Windows has the monitor and is sending it nothing. Microsoft’s Q&A site has a thread on that message that at least 100 people have marked as their question too. It started from two monitors on a dock, and the fix reported in the thread was in Intel Graphics Command Center, under Display, where the deactivated screen has a three-dot menu with an enable option.

The cable is in the motherboard port

A desktop with a graphics card usually has two sets of video ports. One set sits in the motherboard’s block of sockets, with the USB and network ports, and runs from the graphics built into the processor — ASUS’s FAQ calls it integrated graphics. The other set is on the card.

The board’s set is sometimes switched off. Intel’s support article on integrated graphics says some desktop computers disable it automatically when they detect a graphics card, and that you may be able to turn it back on in the system BIOS.

The workstation on the About page is built this way. Its board is an ASUS ROG STRIX B650-A Gaming WiFi, which ASUS’s specification page gives one DisplayPort and one HDMI port, and the processor in it is a Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Read with Get-PnpDevice on October 2, 2026, the processor’s graphics, AMD Radeon(TM) Graphics, is listed as not present. Device Manager hides a device like that until View, Show hidden devices is on. So nothing drives the board’s two ports.

So read Display adapters on yours and look for the processor’s own graphics. If it is missing, or shows only with hidden devices on, the fix is free. Move the second monitor’s cable to a port on the card. If it is listed beside the card in the normal view, the board’s ports are live and your cause is further down this page. If the card you installed is missing from the list, the card is the fault, and graphics card not detected covers it.

Some processors have no graphics at all. Intel’s naming guide marks the F suffix “Requires discrete graphics”, so a motherboard port on one of those will never light.

To run a screen from the board on purpose, ASUS’s multi-monitor FAQ gives the BIOS switch. Its Intel example is iGPU Multi-Monitor, under Advanced, System Agent (SA) Configuration, Graphics Configuration, and its AMD example is IGFX Multi-Monitor, under Advanced, NB Configuration. The same FAQ says AM5 boards and Intel 800-series boards support dual display by default, so they don’t need the switch. I would still check Device Manager.

An adapter or a splitter is in the path

A wrong adapter gives Windows nothing to detect, and direction is the first thing to check. Dell’s adapter guide says an adapter built to convert DisplayPort to HDMI cannot work in reverse, and that a passive one works only from a DisplayPort output to an HDMI screen, because it relies on the graphics card supporting Dual-Mode DisplayPort, marked DP++. Going from an HDMI output to a DisplayPort monitor always takes an active adapter, and Dell’s table lists DisplayPort to DVI and DisplayPort to VGA as active too. If the adapter has a USB lead, plug it in. Dell says it powers the conversion.

USB-C converters have a direction as well. VESA’s DisplayPort FAQ says USB-C to HDMI, DVI and VGA converters need to be plugged into the device that is sending the video.

A splitter cannot do this job at all. Microsoft’s troubleshooting page says a display splitter duplicates the same signal and does not create two independent ones, so there is no second display for Windows to extend onto.

The test is the same for all three. Take it out of the path, which is Microsoft’s first hardware step as well: disconnect docks, dongles and adapters and connect the monitor directly.

A laptop USB-C port or a dock

A USB-C socket does not promise video. To send a picture on its own, the port has to support what VESA calls DisplayPort Alt Mode, and VESA’s FAQ says ports that do will normally carry the DP logo beside them. It adds that most video sources with a USB-C port support it even without the logo, and that the device’s documentation should say, so the laptop’s manual or specification page settles it.

The same FAQ separates hubs from docks. A hub, as the USB Implementers Forum defines it, supports USB and no Alt Mode, and the product that carries video is a dock. A USB-only hub cannot carry Alt Mode video.

Count the laptop’s video outputs as well. Microsoft says a PC with one video output port supports a single external monitor by default. A second one takes a docking station or, on a PC with a USB-C port, a USB adapter that may add a video output.

Some docks and USB adapters work another way. They are built on DisplayLink’s USB graphics chips. Those need DisplayLink’s software. DisplayLink’s support article says a working device appears in Device Manager under USB Display Adapters or Display adapters. If it sits under Other devices, Windows has not matched it to the driver, and the remedy is to uninstall the DisplayLink software and install the current release from Synaptics, which was 12.3, dated September 4, 2026, when I checked.

More screens than the graphics adapter drives

Every graphics adapter has a ceiling. NVIDIA lists the GeForce RTX 5080 at up to four. For Intel graphics, Intel sends you to the processor’s specification page and its “# of Displays Supported” line, and warns that a PC maker can limit a system to one or two monitors.

Microsoft’s page treats a second monitor the same way. If one external monitor works and another does not, the display adapter may not support more than one, and the adapter’s maker is who to ask.

It worked until an update

This is the branch where the driver is a fair suspect. Work Microsoft’s order.

Press Windows key + Ctrl + Shift + B, which resets the graphics driver.
Restart. If that changes nothing, shut down and turn the PC back on.
Roll the driver back. In Device Manager, expand Display adapters, right-click the adapter, choose Properties, open the Driver tab and select Roll Back Driver.
If there is no roll back option, reinstall. Right-click the adapter, choose Uninstall device, tick Attempt to remove the driver for this device and select Uninstall. After the restart, right-click the adapter again and choose Update driver, then Search automatically for updated driver software.

Driver updates do break detection. Intel’s support article 000096421 records a case in which an HP ZR30w monitor stopped being recognized after an update to driver 31.0.101.4644 or 31.0.101.4669, on both Arc A750 and UHD Graphics 770, and Intel resolved it in 31.0.101.4885. Its remedy was to install that driver or a newer one as a clean install, using Display Driver Uninstaller and Safe Mode, the routine in my GPU driver crash guide.

Windows updates get blamed too. Windows 11, version 26H2, the Windows 11 2026 Update, began a phased rollout on September 29, 2026. It may be the update you noticed. Its known-issues page listed three issues on October 2, 2026: USB audio devices that fail to start, domain-joined PCs losing their trust relationship, and a black screen after sign-in that Microsoft has seen mainly in virtual desktop environments. None is about an external display. The pages for 25H2 and 24H2 listed nothing about it either on the same day.

One fix to skip, and one to leave for last

One guide on this problem, updated in July 2025, tells readers to create a TdrDelay registry value of 8. Skip it. Microsoft’s page on those keys defines TdrDelay as the number of seconds the GPU can delay a preempt request from the GPU scheduler, and it says “End users shouldn’t manipulate these registry keys.” That timer has no part in finding a monitor.

The other common step is deleting old monitor entries, which Device Manager shows only under View, Show hidden devices. It is low-risk, because those entries belong to screens that are no longer connected, but it is rarely the cause. Microsoft’s note on hidden devices, written for driver developers, says a device that is no longer present “should not cause any problems”, and the About-page workstation lists two of those entries under Monitors (Get-PnpDevice, October 2, 2026) while its one connected screen works. A community member’s answer, posted in July 2026 to a December 2025 Microsoft Q&A thread about a second monitor lost after an update, recommends removing every old entry for the monitor, under both Monitors and Display adapters, then restarting. Try it after everything above has failed. Leave the graphics card’s own entry alone.

When the monitor or the cable is the fault

If the checks above found nothing, test the parts. Microsoft’s list is short: change the cable, move it to another video port if the PC has one, and try the monitor on a different computer.

A monitor that stays dark on a second machine, with a second cable, is the fault. One that works there sends you back to the first PC, and to whichever of its port, its adapter or its driver you have not yet ruled out.

Best RTX 5070 Prebuilts (October 2026)

LK Wood IV — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

By LK Wood IV · Published 2026-10-01 · 14 min read · St. Louis County, MO

Newegg’s search for an RTX 5070 gaming PC returned 213 distinct listings on its first six result pages on October 1, 2026, and 166 of them carry the RTX 5070 rather than a neighbouring card. Most are not for this reader. One hundred and two ask $3,000 or more, nearly all of them configurator towers with a Core Ultra 9 or a Ryzen 9 in front of a card that cost $869.99 on its own at Newegg on September 26, 2026, by the RTX 5070 vs 5070 Ti page’s read. Eighteen sit under $2,000. I opened twenty product pages, most of them under $2,300, and ranked them.

The floor is the same on every pick: an RTX 5070 12GB, 32GB of memory as two modules, a 1TB NVMe drive, and a power supply of at least 650W with a printed efficiency rating. The processor is a column, because this tier runs from a Core i5 to a Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Price, seller, warranty and what each listing discloses decided the order.

The three picks at a glance

Prices are what Newegg’s buy box showed, signed out, in the US, on October 1, 2026. No price tie here.

System	Newegg price, Oct. 1	Processor and memory	Warranty as listed	Power supply as listed	Board and drive
1. ABS Cyclone Aqua Top pick	$1,599.99	Core i7-14700F; G.SKILL Ripjaws V 2 x 16GB DDR4-3200	1 year parts, 1 year labor	Compucase CS650, 650W 80 Plus Gold (model named)	ASUS PRIME B760M-A AX D4; Kingston SNV3S 1TB
2. ABS Flux II Aqua	$1,799.99	Core i7-14700F; G.SKILL Flare X5 2 x 16GB DDR5-6000	1 year parts, 1 year labor	650W 80 Plus Gold, model not named	GIGABYTE B760M C V3; Kingston SNV3S 1TB
3. STORMCRAFT Viper	$2,099.99	Core i7-14700F; 2 x 16GB DDR5-6000	2 years parts, 3 years labor	850W 80 Plus Gold, model not named	B760M D5 Wi-Fi CEC; 2TB Gen4

All three are sold and shipped by Newegg with 15-day returns, and all three carry the same processor and the same ASUS Dual OC card where the maker is named (the STORMCRAFT listing does not name its card’s maker). The $200 from the first to the second buys a DDR5 platform. The $300 from the second to the third buys a 2TB drive, an 850W unit and a three-year labor term.

How I ranked the systems

Four tests, in order.

The floor. RTX 5070 12GB, 32GB as two modules, a 1TB NVMe drive, and at least 650W with a printed rating. NVIDIA lists 250W of total graphics power and 650W of required system power, so a 650W Gold unit meets the figure and an 850W unit is headroom. The RTX 50-series power supply guide explains what moves that number.
Price and seller. The buy-box price, who sells the machine and who ships it. Newegg sells and ships sixteen of the twenty I opened, with 15-day returns; KOTIN and AVGPC sell theirs through Newegg’s marketplace with 30-day returns.
Disclosure. Whether the listing names its power supply model or at least its rating, states how the 32GB is split, names the board, and names the maker of the graphics card. Of the twenty product pages, one names the power supply model. Seventeen print a rating. Eleven state the module count. Three name the board’s maker and model, and a fourth names a model. Three name the card’s maker.
Warranty as printed. Newegg prints a parts and labor term in its warranty box for the machines it sells itself. The five STORMCRAFT listings read two years parts and three years labor; ten listings read one year in Newegg’s box and the three KOTIN listings read a one-year limited warranty in their descriptions; the Andromeda reads two years parts and lifetime labor in its bullets; the AVGPC listing says to contact the seller.

I did not benchmark any of these towers. The performance section below says what the vendors publish and where the site’s own pages put the card against its neighbours.

1. ABS Cyclone Aqua: every part named, at the lowest price that clears the floor

The Cyclone Aqua with a Core i7-14700F (Newegg item N82E16883360982) cost $1,599.99 on October 1, marked down from a $1,999.99 list price. Newegg sells and ships it, and it was in stock. That is $200 under its own DDR5 sibling, the next machine that clears every line of the floor, and $50 under Thermaltake’s i5 tower, which does not state its module count.

The listing reads like a parts list. Every line has a maker. An ASUS PRIME B760M-A AX D4 board. A Compucase CS650 650W 80 Plus Gold power supply. An ASUS Dual OC GeForce RTX 5070 12GB. G.SKILL Ripjaws V memory as two 16GB DDR4-3200 modules. A Kingston SNV3S 1TB PCIe 4.0 drive. A Cooler Master Hyper 212 Spectrum V3 air cooler. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. Newegg’s warranty box lists one year of parts coverage and one year of labor, with 15-day returns. Newegg ranked it the number 18 best seller in gaming desktops that day, and the listing was first posted on April 10, 2026.

Three compromises. The platform is DDR4: the board takes DDR4 only, so a later memory upgrade stays on DDR4-3200. The drive is 1TB. The warranty is one year where STORMCRAFT gives three on labor. None of those changes what the listing is: the only one of the twenty I opened that names its power supply by model, at the lowest price in the field that clears every line of the floor.

The same machine is on Amazon as ASIN B0GXMMD7DN, sold by Advanced BattleStations.

Check AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01

2. ABS Flux II Aqua: the same processor and card on DDR5-6000

The Flux II Aqua (Newegg item N82E16883360988) cost $1,799.99 on October 1, down from $2,299.99. Newegg sells and ships it, and it was in stock. Newegg ranked it the number 8 best seller in gaming desktops, the highest rank of any machine in this field.

It carries the same Core i7-14700F and the same ASUS Dual OC RTX 5070 as the Cyclone, and the same Kingston SNV3S 1TB drive. What changes is the platform: a GIGABYTE B760M C V3 board and G.SKILL Flare X5 memory as two 16GB DDR5-6000 modules. The power supply line reads 650W 80 Plus Gold with no model. The cooler is a Gamdias BOREAS E1-412 air unit. Wi-Fi 6, one year of parts and labor, 15-day returns, first listed May 15, 2026.

So the $200 buys DDR5 and a different air cooler. That is the whole choice. If this tower will get a memory upgrade in its life, the DDR5 board is worth the $200. If it will be replaced whole, the Cyclone is the same machine for less. I found no Amazon listing for the Flux II on October 1, so the Amazon control is a search.

Amazon does not list the Flux II Aqua (checked October 2, 2026), so its Amazon button searches ABS’s RTX 5070 machines there.

Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01

3. STORMCRAFT Viper: 2TB, 850W and three years of labor

The Viper (part number VI1470FCC-570N1, Newegg item N82E16883420039) cost $2,099.99 on October 1. Newegg sells and ships it, and it was in stock. It is the pick for the reader who wants the drive and the warranty settled at purchase, with no upgrade bill waiting in the first year and no question about who honours a failed part in the third. Nothing else on it is unusual.

The listing names a B760M D5 Wi-Fi CEC board, an 850W 80 Plus Gold supply with no model, two 16GB DDR5-6000 modules, a 2TB Gen4 NVMe drive and air cooling, with Wi-Fi 6. Newegg’s warranty box lists two years of parts and three years of labor. The bullet list ends with the line that component brands may vary, and the listing does not name the card’s maker. First listed October 29, 2025.

STORMCRAFT sells the same specification with a Ryzen 7 7700 as the Skyhawk Pro, $42 less at $2,057.99, and that listing names its board model (a PRO B650-VC Wi-Fi II, maker not printed). Amazon’s search results list a STORMCRAFT Sirius with the i7-14700F, the RTX 5070 and 32GB of DDR5 on a 1TB drive (ASIN B0FMJBNW4C), a different model, so the Amazon control is a search.

Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01

The X3D machines

A Ryzen 7 7800X3D or 9800X3D with 32GB adds $460 to $1,071 over the Cyclone. AMD lists the 7800X3D at 8 cores and 16 threads, a 4.2GHz base, a 5.0GHz boost and 96MB of L3 cache at a 120W TDP, and the 9800X3D at the same core count with a 4.7GHz base and a 5.2GHz boost. What that cache buys at 1440p is the 7800X3D review’s subject; this page ranks what the towers disclose.

System	Price, Oct. 1	What the listing says	What it costs you
CyberPowerPC GM70928 (7800X3D)	$2,059.99, from $2,399.99	B850; 1000W, no rating printed; 32GB DDR5, split not stated; 1TB; liquid cooler; 1 year; sold by Newegg; number 14 best seller; component brands may vary	The cheapest 32GB X3D tower Newegg sells itself. Two questions before you pay: the power supply’s rating and the module count Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
AVGPC Whirlwind (7800X3D)	$2,199.00	B650 micro ATX; 850W Gold; 2 x 16GB DDR5-5600 with two slots open; 2TB Gen4; 360mm liquid cooler; Wi-Fi 5; sold and shipped by AVGPC, 30-day returns; warranty reads contact the seller	The most complete X3D specification in the field, from a marketplace seller with no printed warranty term Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
KOTIN (7800X3D)	$2,199.99	850W 80 Plus Gold; 2 x 16GB DDR5, speed not stated; 1TB Gen4; 360mm liquid cooler with a 9.16-inch display; Wi-Fi 7; sold by KOTIN, 30-day returns; a one-year limited warranty in the description; assembled in California	A 1TB drive at the AVGPC’s price; the display is the draw Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
KOTIN (9800X3D)	$2,399.99	850W 80 Plus Gold; 2 x 16GB DDR5-4800; 1TB Gen4; 360mm liquid cooler with an 11.3-inch display; Wi-Fi 7; sold by KOTIN, 30-day returns; a one-year limited warranty in the description	DDR5-4800 behind a 9800X3D is the slowest DDR5 in this field Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
iBUYPOWER Y40 (9800X3D)	$2,399.99	750W, no rating printed; 32GB DDR5-5200, split not stated; 1TB; 1 year; sold by Newegg	A 750W line with no rating and 5200 memory, at the KOTIN’s price Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
Thermaltake LCGS NE 9870-V380 (9800X3D)	$2,670.99	B850; 850W, no rating printed; ToughRam 32GB DDR5-6000; 2TB; 360mm liquid cooler; 1 year; sold by Newegg	The only 9800X3D tower with a 2TB drive, at $1,071 over the Cyclone Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01

Two X3D towers fail the floor on memory and are in the next section: Andromeda’s V3 Advanced with a 7800X3D at $1,999.99 ships 16GB, and Acer’s Nitro 85 with a 9800X3D at $2,199.99 ships one 16GB module.

The rest of the field under $2,300

System	Price, Oct. 1	What the listing says	Why it is not a pick
Thermaltake LCGS NE i1470-V170S R4 (i5-14400F)	$1,649.99, from $1,899.99	B760; 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.0; 32GB DDR4-3200, split not stated; 1TB; tower air cooler; Wi-Fi 5; 1 year; sold by Newegg	$50 over the Cyclone for a Core i5 and an unstated module count Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
STORMCRAFT Falcon (i7-14700F)	$1,799.99, from $1,999.99	B760; 850W 80 Plus Gold; 32GB DDR4-3200, split not stated; 1TB Gen4; 2 years parts, 3 years labor; sold by Newegg; component brands may vary	The Flux II’s price on DDR4 with no module count, and the title says 360mm AIO while the spec table says tower cooler; ask which Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
ABS Cyclone Aqua (i9-14900KF)	$1,899.99, from $2,499.99	ASRock B760M-C/D4; ATX 650W 80 Plus Gold, model not named; ZOTAC Twin Edge OC RTX 5070; G.SKILL Ripjaws V 2 x 16GB DDR4-3200; MSI M461 1TB Gen4; Gamdias AURA GL240 V2 240mm liquid cooler; Wi-Fi 5; 1 year; sold by Newegg	$300 over its i7 sibling for a Core i9 and a liquid cooler on the same DDR4 board class, with the power supply model dropped from the listing Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
STORMCRAFT Sirius (i5-14400F)	$1,999.99	B760M D5 Wi-Fi CEC; 650W 80 Plus Gold; 2 x 16GB DDR5-6000; 2TB Gen4; tower cooler; Wi-Fi 6; 2 years parts, 3 years labor; sold by Newegg; component brands may vary	The Viper’s drive and warranty with a Core i5 for $100 less; a good machine if the i5 is enough Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
KOTIN (Core Ultra 7 265KF)	$1,999.99, from $2,199.99	850W 80 Plus Gold; 2 x 16GB DDR5, speed not stated; 1TB Gen4; liquid cooler with a 9.16-inch display; Wi-Fi 6E; sold by KOTIN, 30-day returns; a one-year limited warranty in the description	No memory speed printed, on a one-year term Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
STORMCRAFT Phantom (Core Ultra 7 270K Plus)	$1,999.99, from $2,399.99	B860; 850W 80 Plus Gold; 32GB DDR5-6000, split not stated; 1TB; 360mm liquid cooler; 2 years parts, 3 years labor; sold by Newegg; back-ordered to October 6	Back-ordered on October 1; a real option at this price when it returns Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
STORMCRAFT Skyhawk Pro (Ryzen 7 7700)	$2,057.99	PRO B650-VC Wi-Fi II board, maker not printed; 850W 80 Plus Gold; 2 x 16GB DDR5-6000; 2TB Gen4; tower cooler; Wi-Fi 6; 2 years parts, 3 years labor; sold by Newegg	The Viper with a Ryzen 7 7700 and a board model named, for $42 less Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
Skytech Archangel 5 (Core Ultra 7 270K)	$2,099.99, from $2,799.99	B860; 750W, Gold in the title; 32GB DDR5-5600, split not stated; 1TB; 360mm liquid cooler; Wi-Fi 6; 1 year; sold by Newegg; component brands may vary	The Viper’s price with a smaller supply, a 1TB drive and a one-year term Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01
Alienware Aurora DACT1250-7254BLK-PUS (Core Ultra 7 265KF)	$2,199.99, from $3,269.99	32GB, type not stated; 1TB; 1000W Platinum in the bullets; liquid cooler; 1 year; sold by Newegg	The best power supply line in the field on a listing that does not say what memory it ships Search AmazonLink checked 2026-10-01 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-10-01

What I rejected and why

Sixteen gigabytes of memory. Andromeda’s V3 Advanced with a 7800X3D at $1,999.99 ships 16GB on a B850 board with a lifetime labor term, and Acer’s Nitro 85 with a 9800X3D at $2,199.99 ships 16GB as one module. Both are a memory purchase away from the floor. On the search tiles, iBUYPOWER’s Slate with a Ryzen 7 8700F at $1,799.99 and AVGPC’s Hellfire with a Ryzen 5 9600X at $1,799 also list 16GB.
A wattage with no rating. The CyberPowerPC’s 1000W, the iBUYPOWER Y40’s 750W and the Thermaltake 9800X3D tower’s 850W are numbers without an efficiency badge or a model. Each needs a question to the seller before checkout.
A warranty that reads contact the seller. The AVGPC listing prints no term. It may be fine; the listing does not say.
The configurator towers. One hundred and two of the 166 RTX 5070 listings ask $3,000 or more, most of them an Ultra 9 285K, a Ryzen 9 9950X3D or a 9950X ahead of the card, repeated at every memory and drive size up to 192GB. I opened none of them. The card in those towers is the same part that sits in the Cyclone, and Newegg sold it on its own for $869.99 on September 26, 2026.
Listings I did not open. Hoengager’s towers, which filled a dozen tiles from $1,739.99 to $2,359.99 and are sold by Hoengager; MSI’s Codex R2 at $2,049.99 and Aegis Z2 at $2,099; the iBUYPOWER Element and Slate at $2,299.99 to $2,399.99; and GRI’s i7-14700K tower at $2,241.99. I do not rank a listing I have not read.

What an RTX 5070 delivers, and what sits next to it

I have not benchmarked any of these prebuilts. What follows is what NVIDIA publishes and what the site’s own pages hold. Nothing here is a test result of mine.

The card. NVIDIA lists the RTX 5070 at 6,144 CUDA cores , 12GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, a 2.51GHz boost clock, 250W of total graphics power and 650W of required system power, fed by two PCIe 8-pin cables through the adapter in the box or one PCIe Gen 5 cable rated at 300W or more.
The tier above. The RTX 5070 vs 5070 Ti page prices each card’s frames from Tom’s Hardware’s June 2026 averages and finds the Ti 21% faster at 1440p for 32% more money at the card level, with a section on where the 5070’s 12GB runs out. At the tower level the gap is wider: the top pick in the RTX 5070 Ti prebuilt guide, the cheapest machine there that cleared its floor, cost $2,419.99 on September 30, $820 over the Cyclone, because that field pairs the Ti with a 9800X3D.
Power. Every pick ships at or above NVIDIA’s 650W figure. The 850W units in the Viper, the Skyhawk Pro and the KOTIN towers are one tier of headroom, which the PSU wattage calculator can size against your own parts.

The price ceiling for a 32GB, 1TB build

My cutoff for this specification is roughly $2,100 before tax. The three picks sit under it. Past it, show me why, because the card does not change:

a 2TB drive, or 64GB instead of 32GB
an X3D processor, with the two questions above answered
a named power supply and a named board, together
a warranty longer than STORMCRAFT’s three years of labor

If you are willing to assemble the machine, load the same parts into the PC Builder and compare the bill. The RTX 5070 vs 5070 Ti page records an MSI RTX 5070 at Newegg for $869.99 on September 26, 2026, which puts the card alone at a little over half the Cyclone’s price.

The 60-second checkout audit

Do this after clicking through and before payment.

Match the item number to the exact row in this guide.
Confirm the processor and the RTX 5070 12GB in the selected configuration; several of these pages carry other processors and other cards under the same name.
Look for two memory modules, and read whether they are DDR4 or DDR5. Eleven of the twenty listings print the split.
Find the power supply model. Only the Cyclone prints one; if only a wattage or a rating is listed, ask the seller before the return window closes.
Confirm the board chipset and count open M.2 slots.
Read who sells it and who ships it, and the return window: 15 days on the machines Newegg sells, 30 on the KOTIN and AVGPC listings.
Open the warranty and return terms. The prebuilt warranty piece says what those terms are worth.
Screenshot the final configuration, price, and delivery promise. Then pay.

If one of those fields changes, re-rank the machine. Two towers wearing the same family name can differ in the processor, in the memory type, in the power supply, in the seller and in the return path. On a heavy glass-sided tower the expensive failure is discovering after delivery that the machine differs from the tile while the only remedy is packing it up again.

Where to buy the ABS Cyclone Aqua (Core i7-14700F, RTX 5070): Check Amazon · Check Newegg. Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

RTX 5070 Ti vs RTX 5080: Which One Should You Buy in 2026?

LK Wood IV — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

TL;DR · RTX 5070 Ti vs RTX 5080

Speed. In Tom's Hardware's June 24, 2026 averages the 5080 leads by 9.8% at 1440p raster and 12.8% at 4K raster. With ray tracing at 4K the lead is 14.7%.
Price. At Newegg on October 1, 2026 the cheapest new 5080 cost $1,679.99 and the cheapest new 5070 Ti $1,179.99. That is $500, or 42.4%, for at most 14.7% more speed.
Power. My ROG Astral RTX 5080 carries a 400 W default power limit, yet across 308 gaming samples it peaked at 325.73 W, under NVIDIA's 360 W reference. The 850 W supply and the third 8-pin cable come from the spec sheet.
Verdict. The 5070 Ti for 1440p. The 5080 for 4K ray tracing headroom, or for paid work that scales with its 20% more CUDA cores.

Frame rates are Tom's Hardware's from June 24, 2026. Prices are Newegg buy boxes read October 1, 2026. The power log is my own card on a hand-tuned profile. I have never measured a 5070 Ti.

How much faster is the 5080?

Two Tom’s Hardware tables answer this, and they measure different things.

The first is average frame rate. Jeffrey Kampman’s Tom’s Hardware GPU hierarchy, updated June 24, 2026, averages 11 raster games and 8 ray-traced games on a Ryzen 7 9800X3D with no upscaling, and two of my pages carry its rows for this pair, the 4K 240Hz GPU page with both 4K rows and the 1440p ray-tracing row, and the RTX 5070 vs 5070 Ti comparison with the 1440p raster pair. The percentages are mine.

Tom’s Hardware fps averages	RTX 5070 Ti	RTX 5080	5080 lead
1440p raster	116.8	128.3	+9.8%
4K raster	68.6	77.4	+12.8%
1440p ray tracing	66.2	74.0	+11.8%
4K ray tracing	36.7	42.1	+14.7%

The second is Tom’s relative score, each card as a share of the RTX 5090, which my 2026 GPU hierarchy ranks 43 cards on and re-checked against Tom’s on September 22, 2026.

Tom’s Hardware relative scores	RTX 5070 Ti	RTX 5080	5080 lead
1080p	76.2	81.9	+7.5%
1440p	69.8	76.7	+9.9%
4K	61.9	69.8	+12.8%

The two tables agree within a tenth of a point. The gap grows with resolution. Nowhere does it reach 15%.

GamersNexus tested both cards on its own bench. Steve Burke’s RTX 5070 Ti review of February 21, 2025 found the 5080 “generally 9% to 16% better” depending on the resolution and game, and 13% ahead in Resident Evil 4 at 1440p. Same shape.

What each frame costs

Divide the price by the frame rate. On October 1, 2026 at about 12:30 CDT I read Newegg’s buy boxes for the cheapest new card of each GPU sold and shipped by Newegg, and found the RTX 5070 Ti at $1,179.99 for the MSI Ventus 3X OC, with GIGABYTE’s Eagle OC at the same $1,179.99 , and the RTX 5080 at $1,679.99 for the MSI Ventus 3X OC in white, with the black version at the same $1,679.99 . The gap is $500.00. That is 42.4% on top of the Ti.

A 42.4% premium against a lead that tops out at 14.7% means every 5080 frame costs more. At 1440p raster a Ti frame costs $10.10 and a 5080 frame $13.09. At 4K with ray tracing, the 5080’s best row, it is $32.15 against $39.90. Prices move weekly, so if either listing has changed, divide the new price by the frame rate in the first table.

Same chip, same memory, 20% more cores

I read NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 family page and its RTX 5080 page on October 1, 2026. Neither lists memory speed, so that row comes from ASUS’s Prime RTX 5070 Ti and ROG Astral RTX 5080 spec pages.

Specification	RTX 5070 Ti	RTX 5080	Difference
CUDA cores	8,960	10,752	+20.0%
Boost clock	2.45 GHz	2.62 GHz	+170 MHz
Memory	16 GB GDDR7, 256-bit	16 GB GDDR7, 256-bit	none
Memory speed (ASUS boards)	28 Gbps	30 Gbps	+7.1%
Total graphics power	300 W	360 W	+60 W
Required system power	750 W	850 W	+100 W
Power cables	2x 8-pin, or one 300 W Gen 5 cable	3x 8-pin, or one 450 W Gen 5 cable	one more cable

Both cards use NVIDIA’s GB203 chip, as my 5070 vs 5070 Ti page and my Astral dataset record, with 8,960 of its cores enabled on the 5070 Ti and 10,752 on the 5080. What the 5080 adds is compute, 20% more cores at a slightly higher boost clock, plus 7.1% more memory bandwidth from faster GDDR7 on the same 256-bit bus. Capacity does not change. A game or model that fits in 16 GB on one card fits on the other.

The power limit is not the power draw

NVIDIA rates the 5080 at 360 W and the 5070 Ti at 300 W, and asks for 850 W and 750 W supplies. Partner boards go further. My ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC ships at a 400 W power limit, and ASUS’s March 2025 BIOS raised its ceiling to 450 W, as my Astral review records. The captures below ran at a 448 W limit. So this partner card’s limit sits 40 to 90 W above NVIDIA’s reference figure and 100 to 150 W above the 5070 Ti’s.

What the card drew is a different number. On June 28, 2026 I logged board power every five seconds across a 25-minute gaming session on my hand-tuned profile, 308 samples, and published the raw log with the dataset. The maximum was 325.73 W. The average was 260.99 W. Forty-six samples sat at 300 W or above, none reached 360 W, the throttle register read zero on every row, and the core averaged 56 °C. In my LLM power-efficiency dataset, captured August 19, 2026 at the 448 W limit, loaded medians across four models ran from 265 to 344 W and never touched the cap either.

Figure	Watts	Scope
Astral RTX 5080 shipping limit	400	my card, Astral review
Astral RTX 5080 BIOS ceiling	450	my card, Astral review; Club386
Gaming peak, 308 samples	325.73	my card, hand-tuned profile, game not named
LLM decode, loaded medians	265 to 344	my card, four models, 448 W limit
RTX 5070 Ti in Final Fantasy XIV at 4K	264	GamersNexus, February 2025, their bench

So the firmware headroom on this partner 5080 went unused in both workloads, and its gaming peak stayed 34 W under NVIDIA’s reference figure. The step from a 750 W supply with two 8-pin cables to an 850 W supply with three is written on the spec sheet. In the gaming log and the LLM runs, the draw never got there. Buy the 850 W unit anyway. ASUS recommends 850 W for the Astral, a figure it bases on a fully overclocked GPU and CPU, and my RTX 50-series PSU guide itemizes the build.

Here is the scope. One card, one gaming session with the game not named, one profile, board power only, no wall measurement. I own no 5070 Ti, so the 264 W row is GamersNexus’s figure from their bench, there for reference and never as a like-for-like pair with my log. No benchmark run against a 5070 Ti is planned.

For local LLMs, the gap splits in two

I own no 5070 Ti, so for the pair I use the community numbers in the llama.cpp CUDA performance discussion, where owners run llama-bench on Llama 2 7B Q4_0 and post results from whatever commit and host they have. It is a survey. There is no controlled test behind it.

llama-bench, Llama 2 7B Q4_0	RTX 5070 Ti	RTX 5080	5080 lead
Prompt processing, pp512, flash attention off	6,952.38	8,297.36	+19.3%
Prompt processing, pp512, flash attention on	8,419.56	9,487.70	+12.7%
Token generation, tg128, flash attention off	176.85	181.99	+2.9%
Token generation, tg128, flash attention on	182.43	184.68	+1.2%

Generation streams the model’s weights through memory once per token, so it tracks bandwidth, and the bandwidth gap is 7.1%. Prompt processing is compute. There the 5080’s 20% more cores show. For interactive chat the two cards will feel the same. For long-context ingestion or batch prefill the 5080 buys 13% to 19%.

My own 5080 numbers come from a different stack. In my RTX 5080 LLM throughput dataset, captured August 12, 2026 with ollama 0.32.1 on driver 610.88 and a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, the Astral decoded gpt-oss:20b at 187.3 to 190.1 tokens a second and Qwen 2.5 7B Q4_K_M at 176.6 to 180.0. Different models, a different runtime and no 5070 Ti column, so they do not pair with the llama-bench rows.

Where the 5080 earns its price

Two cases. Both need a name before you pay.

The first is 4K with ray tracing. Tom’s 4K ray-tracing averages, 42.1 fps against 36.7, are the widest gap in the table, and the 1440p pair, 74.0 against 66.2, stands in for the input rate of 4K at DLSS Quality. My 4K 240Hz GPU page explains why that input rate decides whether frame generation feels right, and it puts the 5070 Ti on the line and the 5080 clear of it. If that is your monitor, the 5080 is the card.

The second is paid compute. Work that scales with CUDA cores gets the 20% from the spec sheet and the 13% to 19% from the llama-bench prefill rows. If the card bills hours, $500 is cheap. If it only raises a benchmark score, the money buys nothing you will see at 1440p.

For everyone else the first table says the Ti.

So which should you buy?

I may earn a commission if you buy through these affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

For 1440p, and for 4K without ray tracing, the RTX 5070 Ti. Its frames cost less in every row of the first table. Newegg had the MSI RTX 5070 Ti 16G Ventus 3X OC at $1,179.99 on October 1, 2026. Check the current price on Amazon’s RTX 5070 Ti search or buy it at Newegg. For a tower, the RTX 5070 Ti prebuilt guide ranks the 9800X3D machines Newegg sold on September 30, 2026.
For 4K with ray tracing, or for paid work that scales with CUDA cores, the RTX 5080. Budget the 850 W supply and the third cable with it. Newegg had the MSI RTX 5080 16G Ventus 3X OC Black at $1,679.99 on October 1, 2026, and the white version at the same price. Check the current price on Amazon’s RTX 5080 search or buy it at Newegg. For a tower, the RTX 5080 prebuilt guide ranks the 9800X3D machines Newegg sold on September 1, 2026.
If ray tracing is off the table, price the RX 9070 XT before either. Above the 5080, see RTX 5090 vs 5080.

Both cards sit in the S tier of my 2026 GPU hierarchy, four places apart. The $500 between them buys the ray-traced 4K row and the prefill rows. Make sure one of those is yours.

Best RTX 5070 Ti Prebuilts: 3 Picks From 153 Listings

LK Wood IV — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0500

By LK Wood IV · Published 2026-09-30 · 14 min read · St. Louis County, MO

Newegg’s search for a Ryzen 7 9800X3D tower with a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti returned 153 listings on September 30, 2026. Eight are refurbished or used. All of those were out of stock. Of the 145 new listings, 93 ask $4,000 or more, most of them the same few configurator towers repeated at every memory and drive size, and another 31 sit between $3,000 and $3,999. That leaves 21 new machines under $3,000, 20 of them with 32GB of memory, and I opened fourteen product pages, thirteen of them under $3,000, to rank the field.

The picks share one core: Ryzen 7 9800X3D, RTX 5070 Ti 16GB, 32GB of DDR5 and a 2TB NVMe drive. So the price, the seller, the warranty, and what each listing discloses about its power supply and memory decided the order.

The three picks at a glance

Prices are what Newegg’s buy box showed, signed out, in the US, on September 30, 2026. The affiliate feed deposited the evening before carries the same figure for the Yeyian and the Andromeda and no figure for the GIGABYTE.

System	Newegg price, Sept. 30	Sold and shipped by	Warranty as listed	Power supply as listed	Board and memory
1. Yeyian Phoenix Iron Mesh Top pick	$2,419.99	Newegg	2 years parts, 3 years labor	850W 80 Plus Gold, model not named	B650, Wi-Fi 6E; 2 x 16GB DDR5-6000
2. Andromeda Insights V3 Elite 50	$2,649.99	Newegg; also sold on Amazon by Andromeda Insights	2 years parts, lifetime labor (US based)	850W 80 Plus Gold, model not named	B850; 2 x 16GB DDR5-6000
3. GIGABYTE AORUS PRIME 5	$2,699.99	Newegg	3 years parts, 3 years labor	850W, no efficiency rating printed	B850, Wi-Fi 7, 2.5GbE; 2 x 16GB DDR5-5600

No price tie this time. The Yeyian is $230 under the Andromeda and $280 under the GIGABYTE, and it clears every line of the floor, so the question for the other two is what the extra money buys. For the Andromeda it buys a B850 board, a 360mm cooler and a lifetime labor term. For the GIGABYTE it buys a third year of parts coverage, Wi-Fi 7 with 2.5GbE, and the only listing in the field that names the maker of its graphics card, at the cost of a power supply line with no rating and memory rated at DDR5-5600.

How I ranked the systems

Four tests, in order.

The floor. Ryzen 7 9800X3D, RTX 5070 Ti 16GB, 32GB of DDR5, a 2TB NVMe drive, and at least 850W. NVIDIA lists 300W for the card and 750W of required system power, so 850W is one size of headroom, and every listing I opened under $3,000 ships it except one. The RTX 50-series power supply guide explains what moves that number.
Price and seller. The buy-box price, who sells the machine and who ships it. Newegg sells and ships five of the fourteen I opened, with 15-day returns. Skytech sells and ships its seven listings itself through Newegg’s marketplace, with 30-day returns; Andromeda Insights sells its V4 the same way. One listing, the ASUS ROG GM700, comes from a third-party reseller.
Disclosure. Whether the listing names its power supply model or at least its rating, states how the 32GB is split, names the board chipset, and names the maker of the graphics card. Of the fourteen product pages, none names the power supply model. Eleven print a Gold efficiency rating somewhere on the page. Four state the module count. Twelve name a chipset. One names the card maker.
Warranty as printed. Newegg prints a parts and labor term in its warranty box for most of the machines it sells itself (the Andromeda V3’s term is in the seller’s bullets); the marketplace listings carry the term in the seller’s bullet list, and Newegg’s box says to contact the seller.

I did not benchmark any of these towers, and TechFuelHQ has not measured an RTX 5070 Ti. The performance section below says what the vendors publish and where the site’s own comparison pages put the card against its neighbours.

1. Yeyian Phoenix Iron Mesh: the cheapest machine that clears the floor

The Phoenix Iron Mesh (part number YPA-PM980DC-57T1N) cost $2,419.99 on September 30, marked down from a $2,699.99 list price. Newegg sells and ships it, and it was in stock. That is $180 under the next in-stock listing that clears the floor, Skytech’s Hawkeye at $2,599.99, and $230 under the Andromeda V3.

The spec table names a B650 board (“B650 D5 Wi-Fi CEC”), an 850W Gold 80 Plus power supply, 16 GB x 2 of DDR5-6000, a 2TB Gen4 NVMe drive, a Yeyian Inf 240mm liquid cooler and Wi-Fi 6E. A keyboard and mouse are in the box. Newegg’s warranty box lists two years of parts coverage and three years of labor; among the warranty boxes Newegg prints for the machines it sells here, only the GIGABYTE’s three and three is longer. Returns run 15 days. The listing was first posted on February 25, 2025, so this configuration has been on sale for over a year and a half.

Two compromises. The board is a B650 rather than a B850, which the 9800X3D motherboard guide covers, and the cooler is a 240mm unit on a processor AMD rates at 120W . Neither changes what the machine is. It is the only tower in this field that clears every line of the floor for under $2,500.

Amazon sells a Yeyian Phoenix Mesh with a 9800X3D, but it is the RTX 5070 12GB version (ASIN B0FFT7KJM9), a different card. So the Amazon control below is a labelled search, not a twin.

Search AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30

2. Andromeda Insights V3 Elite 50: B850, the biggest cooler among the picks, and lifetime labor

The V3 Elite 50 (part number V3-RTX5070TI-9800X3D-2TB-32GB-850W-BLK) cost $2,649.99 on September 30, down from $2,799.99. Newegg sells and ships it, and it was in stock. Newegg ranked it the number 4 best seller in gaming desktops that night.

The listing names a B850 board with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, an 850W 80 Plus Gold supply, 16 GB x 2 of DDR5-6000, a 2TB Gen4 NVMe drive and a 360mm liquid cooler with a digital display. The warranty appears in the seller’s bullets rather than in Newegg’s box: two years of parts, lifetime labor and lifetime service, both US based. Returns run 15 days through Newegg.

The same machine is on Amazon as ASIN B0GG4M3DLR, where Andromeda Insights sells and ships it, in stock on September 30. This is the pick with a real twin at both retailers. Andromeda also sells a V4 Elite 50 at $2,699.99 directly through Newegg’s marketplace with 30-day returns and a liquid cooler with a customizable LCD; it is in the field table below with its own Amazon twin.

Check AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30

3. GIGABYTE AORUS PRIME 5: a three-year warranty and a named card, with a gap in the power supply line

The AORUS PRIME 5 (model AP5A7N7T-5102) cost $2,699.99 on September 30. Newegg sells and ships it, and it was in stock. It was first listed on August 25, 2026. It is the one machine in this field whose graphics card has a named maker, because GIGABYTE built the tower around its own RTX 5070 Ti.

The spec table names an AMD B850 chipset, 16 GB x 2 of DDR5-5600, a 2TB Gen4 drive, a 240mm liquid cooler, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, a Realtek 2.5GbE port, nine rear USB ports and GIGABYTE’s AC301G case. Newegg’s warranty box lists three years of parts and three years of labor, the longest parts term in the field. Returns run 15 days.

The gap is the power supply line, which reads “850W” and nothing else. No rating, no model. Every other machine I would buy prints at least the Gold rating. The memory is also rated at DDR5-5600 where the other two picks ship DDR5-6000. If the three-year term and the named card matter more to you than those two lines, this is the machine; if not, the Andromeda costs $50 less. I found no Amazon listing for this system on September 30, so the Amazon control is a search.

Search AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30

The back-ordered contender: STORMCRAFT Phantom

The STORMCRAFT Phantom (PH980XDCC-57TN1) would sit second on price at $2,599.99, down from $2,799.99, and Newegg sells and ships it, but on September 30 the buy box read “backordered” with an October 2 estimate. The listing names a B850 board, an 850W 80 Plus Gold supply, 32GB of DDR5-6000 with no module count, a 2TB Gen4 drive, a 360mm liquid cooler and seven ARGB fans, with a keyboard and mouse in the box. Newegg’s warranty box lists two years of parts and three years of labor, the same term as the Yeyian, and Newegg ranked it the number 24 best seller in gaming desktops. The affiliate feed deposited the evening before does not carry it.

If it is back in stock at that price when you read this, it is a real alternative to the Yeyian for $180 more, with a B850 board and a bigger cooler. Ask STORMCRAFT for the module count first. STORMCRAFT’s machine on Amazon is a different model, the Skyhawk PRO (ASIN B0FBL4CR6T), with the same core and a B850 board; STORMCRAFT PC sells and ships that one.

Search AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30

The rest of the field under $3,000 on September 30

Skytech’s seven listings are the bulk of it. They share one description: sold and shipped by Skytech through Newegg’s marketplace with 30-day returns, a one-year parts and labor warranty in the bullets, an 850W Gold ATX 3 supply named by rating in the title, 802.11ac Wi-Fi in the bullet list, a 360mm cooler, and a line saying the graphics card brand may vary on five of them or that component brands may vary on the other two. The spec tables print “850W” and a chipset and no module count.

System	Price, Sept. 30	What the listing says	Why it is not a pick
Skytech Hawkeye (ST-HAWKEYE-3228-YE-SK)	$2,599.99	B650; 850W Gold ATX 3; DDR5-6000; 2TB; Wi-Fi 5; 1 year; sold by Skytech	Cheapest of the seven and $180 over the Yeyian for a shorter warranty and a card of unstated make Search AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30
Skytech Azure 3 (ST-AZURE3-2695-W-AL, Montech XR)	$2,699.99	B650; 850W Gold ATX 3; DDR5-6000; 2TB Gen4; Wi-Fi 5; 1 year; sold by Skytech	The Hawkeye’s story for $100 more in a different case Search AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30
Skytech Tempest (ST-TEMPEST-3362-W-AL)	$2,699.99	B650; 850W Gold ATX 3; DDR5-6000; 2TB; Wi-Fi 5; 1 year; sold by Skytech; first listed August 27, 2026	Same as the Azure 3 in another case, marked down $500 from a $3,199.99 list price Search AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30
Skytech Blaze 5 (ST-BLAZE5-3193-B-AL)	$2,699.99	B650; 850W Gold ATX 3; DDR5-6000; 2TB; Wi-Fi 5; 1 year; sold by Skytech	An exact Amazon twin sold by Amazon.com (ASIN B0H7WNHZHK, in stock September 30, with the same DDR5-6000 and 2TB), which matters if you want Amazon’s return path Check AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30
Andromeda Insights Elite 50 V4 (V4-RTX5070TI-9800X3D-2TB-32GB-850W-BLK)	$2,699.99	B850; 850W 80 Plus Gold; DDR5-6000, module count not stated; 2TB Gen4; LCD liquid cooler; 2 years parts, lifetime US labor; sold and shipped by Andromeda Insights, 30-day returns	The V3’s sibling sold by the builder rather than by Newegg, for $50 more; assembled in Eugene, Oregon per the listing; Amazon twin ASIN B0H3F6S67C, sold by Andromeda Insights Check AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30
Skytech King 95 (ST-KING95-2702-W-AL)	$2,799.99	B650; 850W Gold ATX 3.0; DDR5-5600 non-RGB; 2TB Gen4; Wi-Fi 5; 1 year; sold by Skytech	$100 over the Azure 3, Tempest and Blaze 5 for slower memory; the title prints 4.2GHz and a 5GHz turbo for a processor AMD rates at 4.7GHz and 5.2GHz, and the Amazon twin (ASIN B0F4KJLYT2, sold by Amazon.com) lists DDR5-6000 where Newegg’s lists 5600, so confirm the memory on whichever page you buy from Check AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30
Skytech Legacy 4 (ST-LEGACY4-2619-B-AL)	$2,799.99	X670; 850W Gold ATX 3; DDR5-6000; 2TB Gen4; Wi-Fi 5; 1 year; sold by Skytech	The only X670 board among the listings I opened, for $200 over the Hawkeye Search AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30
Skytech Prism 5 (ST-PRISM5-3560-B-AL)	$2,799.99	B850; 850W Gold ATX 3; DDR5-6000; 2TB Gen4; 1 year; sold by Skytech; first listed September 11, 2026	The only Skytech on a B850 board; the title says Wi-Fi 6 and the bullet list says 802.11ac, so ask which Search AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30
iBUYPOWER Y40 (Y40BA7N57T03)	$2,899.99	1TB NVMe; 750W, no rating; DDR5-5200; 1 year parts and labor; sold by Newegg; first listed September 10, 2026	Fails the floor twice at the highest price in this table: a 1TB drive and a 750W unit, on NVIDIA’s minimum Search AmazonLink checked 2026-09-30 Check NeweggLink checked 2026-09-30

Listings under $3,000 that I saw only as search tiles and did not open: Andromeda’s Elite 50 V1 at $2,749.99, V2 at $2,799.99, Vector at $2,899.99 and Frame at $2,899.99, all sold by Andromeda Insights; a Hoengager tower at $2,899.99 sold by Hoengager; iBUYPOWER’s Trace at $2,999.99, sold by Newegg and out of stock; a tower listed only as “Gaming PC” at $2,499.99 with a 1TB drive; and a sponsored Mloong X-Dragon at $2,899 with 96GB of memory, sold by Mloong. I do not rank a listing I have not read.

What I rejected and why

Sixteen gigabytes of memory. MSI’s MAG PANO M100R configurations at $3,249 and $3,499 list 16GB, and ArsenalPC’s Hyte X50 at $3,399 lists 16GB with a 1TB drive. That is an immediate upgrade bill on a new machine.
A 1TB drive at 2TB money. The iBUYPOWER Y40 at $2,899.99 and the $2,499.99 “Gaming PC” tile both ship 1TB.
One memory module, as listed. The ASUS ROG GM700 at $3,299 lists its 32GB as 32 GB x 1, is sold by a third-party seller rather than by Newegg, and its warranty box says to contact the seller.
An undescribed power supply. “850W” with no rating still needs a question to the seller before checkout. That line is why the GIGABYTE sits third rather than first, and why the iBUYPOWER’s 750W line is a rejection.
The configurator towers. Above $3,000 the search is dominated by the same chassis repeated at every memory and drive size: more than forty Adamant Custom listings from $4,049.99 to $9,149.99, two dozen Hyper Cyber listings from $4,519 to $5,619, about twenty ArsenalPC builds from $3,399, and two Velztorm towers at $3,749.25. I opened none of them. At those prices a 9800X3D and a 5070 Ti are not what you are paying for.
Refurbished units that are not for sale. Eight refurbished or used towers, seven of them ABS Eurus, Stratos and Kaze II machines at $1,899.99 to $2,199.99 and one used STORMCRAFT Phantom, were all out of stock. A price you cannot pay is not a price.
Brand-name towers I did not open. HP’s OMEN MAX 45L at $3,679.99 was in the search, sold by Newegg. It may be a fine machine; it is $980 over the GIGABYTE and I did not read its page.

What a 9800X3D and an RTX 5070 Ti deliver

I have not benchmarked any of these prebuilts, and TechFuelHQ has not measured an RTX 5070 Ti. What follows is what the vendors publish and what the site’s own comparison pages hold.

The card. NVIDIA lists the RTX 5070 Ti at 8,960 CUDA cores , 16GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, a 2.45GHz boost clock, 300W of total graphics power and 750W of required system power, fed by two PCIe 8-pin cables through the adapter in the box or one PCIe Gen 5 cable rated at 300W or more. That connector is one more reason the power supply model matters on a tower you did not build.
The processor. AMD lists the Ryzen 7 9800X3D at 8 cores and 16 threads, a 4.7GHz base clock, a 5.2GHz maximum boost, 96MB of L3 cache and a 120W default TDP. Every pick uses it, so it does not separate them.
Frame rates and the neighbours. The RTX 5070 vs 5070 Ti page holds Tom’s Hardware’s June 2026 averages, prices each frame at 1440p and 4K, and finds the RTX 5080 a poor step up from the Ti. The RTX 5070 Ti vs RX 9070 XT page covers the AMD card that undercuts it. If a 5080 tower is on your list anyway, the RTX 5080 prebuilt guide runs this same survey on that field, and the RTX 5070 prebuilt guide runs it one tier down, where the floor starts at $1,599.99.
Local AI. The open RTX 5080 LLM throughput dataset recorded a 20-billion-parameter model resident in about 14 GiB of graphics memory on a 16GB card. The RTX 5070 Ti carries the same 16GB, so the model fits; the tokens per second are that card’s own number, which I have not measured.

The price ceiling for a 32GB, 2TB build

My cutoff for this specification is roughly $2,800 before tax. All four machines above sit under it. Past it, show me why:

64GB instead of 32GB, or 4TB instead of 2TB
a named power supply and a named board, together
a warranty longer than GIGABYTE’s three years
a chassis you specifically want, such as HP’s OMEN MAX 45L at $3,679.99, which I did not open

If you are willing to assemble the machine, load the same parts into the PC Builder and size the supply with the PSU wattage calculator. The RTX 5070 vs 5070 Ti page records an MSI RTX 5070 Ti at Newegg for $1,149.99 on September 26, 2026, which puts the card alone at close to half the Yeyian’s price.

The 60-second checkout audit

Do this after clicking through and before payment.

Match the item number to the exact row in this guide.
Confirm Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5070 Ti 16GB in the selected configuration; several of these pages carry other processors and other cards under the same name.
Look for two memory modules. Only the Yeyian, the Andromeda V3 and the GIGABYTE print the split.
Find the power supply model. If only a wattage or a rating is listed, ask the seller for the model before the return window closes.
Confirm the board chipset and count open M.2 slots.
Read who sells it and who ships it, and the return window: 15 days on the machines Newegg sells, 30 on the Skytech and Andromeda-direct listings.
Open the warranty and return terms. The prebuilt warranty piece says what those terms are worth.
Screenshot the final configuration, price, and delivery promise. Then pay.

If one of those fields changes, re-rank the machine. Two towers wearing the same family name can differ in the power supply, in the memory layout, in the board, in the seller and in the return path. On a heavy glass-sided tower the expensive failure is discovering after delivery that the machine differs from the tile while the only remedy is packing it up again.

Where to buy the Yeyian Phoenix Iron Mesh (Ryzen 7 9800X3D, RTX 5070 Ti): Search Amazon · Check Newegg. Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

PC Randomly Restarts? Find Which Cause Is Yours (2026)

LK Wood IV — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0500

A random restart wipes the screen you needed to read. It leaves the log alone. Windows writes down the restarts it did not plan, and that record sorts the problem before you open the case.

There are four kinds. Something asked for the restart. A blue screen came and went too fast to see. The power dropped or the board reset. Or the PC froze and someone held the button. Each goes to a different fix. The tests past this point cost evenings—a proper memory test runs overnight—so I sort the restart first. It takes five minutes.

Pull the last few restarts out of the log

Press the Windows key, type powershell and press Enter. Paste this line and press Enter again:

Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='System'; Id=41} -MaxEvents 5 | ForEach-Object { [pscustomobject]@{ Time = $_.TimeCreated; BugcheckCode = $_.Properties[0].Value; Hex = '0x{0:X}' -f $_.Properties[0].Value; PowerButton = $_.Properties[6].Value } }

Each row is one time Windows came back up without a clean shutdown. That is event 41 from Kernel-Power, and Microsoft’s wording for it is “The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first.” Find the row whose Time matches your restart and read the numbers beside it.

What the row shows	What happened, and where to go
BugcheckCode above 0	A blue screen. Windows saved the stop code and restarted past it. Go to the stop code picks the page.
BugcheckCode 0 and PowerButton 0	The PC went down before Windows could record a crash. Go to a code of 0 means power, heat or an overclock.
PowerButton above 0	The power button was held down, the way a frozen PC gets forced off. Go to if it froze first.
No row at that time	Check for a restart something asked for. With none there either, treat it as a code of 0.

If PowerShell answers in red with “No events were found that match the specified selection criteria”, the log holds no event 41 at all. Start at the planned-restart check.

Event Viewer shows the same events in the System log as Critical entries from Kernel-Power, if you would rather click. The two numbers that matter sit deep inside each event there, which is why I use the command. All three commands on this page run without administrator rights. I checked them on my own desktop on September 28, 2026, on Windows 11 Home 25H2 (build 26200.9457).

A restart something asked for

Rule out the scheduled restart before you blame hardware:

Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='System'; Id=1074} -MaxEvents 5 | Format-List TimeCreated, Message

Microsoft logs event 1074 when a program or a person starts the restart. The message names the process that asked and ends with its reason. On my build, a restart picked from the Start menu names StartMenuExperienceHost.exe. Windows Update’s restarts name MoUsoCoreWorker.exe or TrustedInstaller.exe, with a reason that begins “Operating System” and ends “(Planned)”. An installer you ran names its own setup file.

A 1074 at the time of your restart means nothing broke. Microsoft says a PC “might need to restart to finish installing the updates” and gives active hours as the control. Open Start > Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Active hours, then pick Automatically or Manually. Set them to the hours you sit at the machine.

The stop code picks the page

A BugcheckCode above 0 means Windows hit a stop error and restarted before you could read the blue screen. Event 41 stores that code in decimal. Microsoft’s own example is 159, which is 0x9F in the hexadecimal that most stop-code references use, and the Hex column in the command does the conversion. Find your number here and go to its page.

26, which is 0x1A MEMORY_MANAGEMENT: memory management BSOD
80, which is 0x50 PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA: page fault in nonpaged area
239, which is 0xEF CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED: critical process died
278, which is 0x116 VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE: GPU driver crash fix
292, which is 0x124 WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR: the code 0 checks below, which cover heat, overclocking and memory; a processor that is starting to fail, the last cause Microsoft names, takes a swap to rule out
313, which is 0x139 KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE: kernel security check failure
456, which is 0x1C8 MANUALLY_INITIATED_POWER_BUTTON_HOLD: if it froze first

For any other number, take the Hex value to Microsoft’s Bug Check Code Reference, which lists the common codes and links a page for each. For a code it lacks, Microsoft points to WinDbg’s !analyze -show command.

Two other places hold the same crash. Event 1001 from Windows Error Reporting, when it is there, reads “The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck” and gives the code in hex with the path of the dump file. The dumps sit in C:\Windows\Minidump and C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP; the memory management guide shows how to open one in WinDbg.

The same code on every restart means that page is your fix, and you can stop reading here.

A code that changes from one restart to the next is a different signal. PSU failure symptoms lists blue screens that name a different driver each time among a failing supply’s signs, so a moving code goes through the code 0 checks from the top.

Keep the next blue screen on screen

If event 41 holds a code and no blue screen ever stayed up, the Automatically restart box is checked. On my desktop the registry value behind it, AutoReboot, read 1. Clearing it costs nothing, and the next stop code stays up until you restart the PC yourself.

Press Windows+R, type SystemPropertiesAdvanced and press Enter. System Properties opens on the Advanced tab.
Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.
Under System failure, clear Automatically restart and click OK.
Restart once so the change takes effect.

Microsoft recommends this when a blue screen shows a code that event 41 did not keep. Write the code down when it appears.

If the PC still restarts instantly with the box cleared, and no blue screen ever shows, the machine is going down before Windows can stop it. That is the next section.

A code of 0 means power, heat or an overclock

This is the branch that sends people shopping, and Microsoft’s own article is specific about it. When event 41 is missing or its codes are 0, it says something stopped Windows from writing an error code. The first four checks it lists are the ones that apply to a home PC, and they are overclocking, memory, the power supply’s wattage and overheating. I work them cheapest first.

One false alarm to clear before you start. If every value is 0 and the System log also holds event 46 from volmgr, “Crash dump initialization failed!”, a blue screen may have happened with nowhere to save its code. Microsoft’s fix for that case is to check the page file, because the page file is where the dump goes.

Look at the outlet. It takes a minute. Microsoft’s first causes are the dull ones: a desktop that was unplugged or caught a power outage, a laptop whose battery ran flat. If a lamp on the same power strip flickered when the PC went down, the problem is the wall.
Put everything back to stock. Any CPU overclock, Precision Boost Overdrive or Curve Optimizer offset, any GPU overclock or undervolt, and the XMP or EXPO memory profile. Microsoft’s first hardware check is to disable overclocking, and a memory profile is a factory overclock that the memory management guide tests with a ten-minute JEDEC run. Use the PC normally for a day. If the restarts stop, the tuning was the cause.
Watch temperatures under the load that triggers it. A CPU that reaches its emergency limit cuts power with no blue screen, and a cut like that leaves a code of 0 behind. How to check CPU temp covers the tools, CPU overheating sorts the cause by when it happens, and GPU overheating does the same for the card.
Ask the hardware what it reported. Two minutes:
```
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='System'; ProviderName='Microsoft-Windows-WHEA-Logger'} -MaxEvents 10 | Format-List TimeCreated, Id, Message
```
WHEA is the Windows hardware error architecture, and WHEA-Logger is the source it writes its error records under in the System log. PowerShell prints “No events were found that match the specified selection criteria” in red, and here that is the good result. Entries at the times of your restarts point at the causes Microsoft lists for the fatal version, bug check 0x124: heat, an overclock, bad memory or a processor that is starting to fail.
Reseat the power cables with the PC off. The 24-pin, the CPU’s 8-pin, and every graphics card connector, pushed in until the latch clicks. That includes the 12V-2x6 plug on a newer card.
Check the wattage. Microsoft calls out the machine that gained a newer processor, more memory or more drives on the same supply. Put your parts into the PSU wattage calculator; on an RTX 50-series card, what PSU each card needs has the figures.
Test the memory overnight. Microsoft’s list says to check the memory, and switching off XMP or EXPO in step 2 only tests the profile. Boot MemTest86 from a USB stick and let it run through the night; the memory management guide explains how to read the result and name a bad stick.
Then the power supply itself. With a code of 0, no WHEA entries, stock settings that did not help, sane temperatures and a clean memory test, the supply is the suspect left. PSU failure symptoms shows how to watch the 12V rail under load and why a swap with a known-good unit settles it.

Steps 1 through 7 cost time and nothing else. Step 8 is the first that can cost money, which is why it comes last.

If it only restarts in games

A game loads the CPU and the graphics card at the same time, so a restart that only comes mid-match points at heat and power first. Read event 41 the same way. A code of 0 goes through the checks above. A code of 278, 0x116 VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE, means the graphics driver stopped responding and Windows failed to reset it. Microsoft’s page for that code says the GPU is usually busy with heavy graphics work when it happens, typically during gameplay. The GPU driver crash fix works that from a clean reinstall down. If the screen instead blinks black and comes back with “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered”, the PC never restarted, and that is the same page’s milder case.

If it froze first

A PowerButton value above 0 means the power button was held down, and Microsoft writes that value when a restart is forced that way. The restart was yours. The fault is the freeze before it. Microsoft’s quick test for a hard hang is the Caps Lock key: if its light does not change when you press it, the machine has probably locked up. BugcheckCode 456 (0x1C8) tells the same story on a PC configured to save a dump when the button is held.

It restarts when you shut it down

A PC that restarts the moment you pick Shut down has a shutdown problem. Run the event 1074 command first, because it names what started the restart. Then turn off Fast Startup, following Dell’s steps. Open Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable, and clear Turn on fast startup (recommended) under Shutdown settings.

Sources

12V-2x6 Pin Current Census: Measured Amps Per Pin

LK Wood IV — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0500

A 16-pin graphics card connector carries its whole 12 V load on six pins. Intel’s design guide rates each of those pins at 9.2 A and the connector at up to 600 W, and at 600 W the six pins share 50 A, so an even split puts 8.3 A on each. That leaves under one amp of room per pin.

Nothing in the connector makes the split even. It depends on how well each pin seats, and until recently an owner had no way to see it. Some hardware now measures every pin. ASUS puts a sensor chip on its ROG Astral cards, Thermal Grizzly sells an inline meter that logs each pin, and owners post their six numbers in forum threads and issue trackers, one card at a time. A search in September 2026 turned up no dataset that collects those readings and sets them beside the cable they came from.

This page opens that census. One row is one connector on one card, read once under one load. The data, the field definitions, the validator and the report form live in the open repository: github.com/iBlessi/techfuelhq-census (CC BY 4.0).

If you are here because a connector looks or smells wrong, shut the machine down first. The symptoms of a failing supply are on the PSU failure symptoms guide.

How results are reported

The census publishes distributions. For each cable type it gives the number of readings, the median ratio of the busiest pin to the average pin, the lowest and highest ratio, and how many readings had a pin at 9.2 A or more. The sample size sits beside every figure.

It publishes no verdict on a card, a cable or a power supply. A reading describes one connector as it was seated on one day, and the same cable pulled out and pushed back in can read differently the next, which is why every row records how many months the cable has been in the card.

What one row records

A row is one connector on one card, read once under one load. Of its 31 fields, you fill in 13, the reading fills in 13, 3 are worked out from the row and the maintainer sets 2.

All 31 fields of a row

Field	Filled by	What it records
`card_brand`	You	Card brand. As printed on the box: ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte.
`card_model`	You	Card model. The model line: ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC.
`gpu`	You	GPU. The chip, written like RTX 5080 or RX 9070 XT.
`sensor`	You	What measured it
`capture`	The reading	Capture
`cable_type`	You	Cable. What carries power from the supply to the card.
`inline_part`	You	Anything between cable and card
`psu_brand`	You	Power supply brand
`psu_model`	You	Power supply model. With its wattage if that is part of the name: RM1000x.
`psu_watts`	You, optional	Power supply watts
`months_in_use`	You	Months this cable has been in this card. Whole months since it was last plugged in. A cable reseated last week is 0.
`load_kind`	You	What the card was doing
`load_name`	You, optional	Which one. The game or test by name.
`samples`	The reading	Samples counted
`duration_s`	The reading	Seconds covered
`total_a`	The reading	Total current, mean (A)
`pin1_a`	The reading	Pin 1, mean (A)
`pin2_a`	The reading	Pin 2, mean (A)
`pin3_a`	The reading	Pin 3, mean (A)
`pin4_a`	The reading	Pin 4, mean (A)
`pin5_a`	The reading	Pin 5, mean (A)
`pin6_a`	The reading	Pin 6, mean (A)
`peak_pin_a`	The reading	Highest single pin seen (A)
`peak_total_a`	The reading	Highest total seen (A)
`min_v`	The reading, optional	Lowest pin voltage seen (V)
`imbalance`	Worked out from the row	Busiest pin over the average pin
`max_share_pct`	Worked out from the row	Busiest pin's share of the total (%)
`band`	Worked out from the row	Load band
`notes`	You, optional	Notes
`submitted_date`	The maintainer	The day the report was sent
`source_issue`	The maintainer	The issue the row came from

Cable types

Value	Meaning
`native-16pin`	The supply maker's cable, 16-pin at both ends
`native-8pin-psu-side`	The supply maker's cable, 8-pin sockets at the supply, 16-pin at the card
`boxed-adapter`	The adapter that came in the card's box
`third-party`	A cable or adapter from another company

Load bands

The band comes from the total current in the row.

Value	Meaning
`idle`	Under 6 A total
`moderate`	6 to 25 A total
`high`	25 A total and above

The 6 A floor follows astral-hwmon’s reference measurements. Its notes record that the sensor reports current in 20 mA steps, that the pin shares scatter at low current for that reason, and its own share figures use samples at 6 A total and above. I took the same floor.

How to take the reading

Put the card under a steady load for at least a minute: a game you play, a benchmark loop, or a render.
Read the six pins while the load runs. A log is better than a glance, because it holds every sample.
Note which cable carries the power, what sits between the cable and the card, and how many months the cable has been plugged in.

What you have	How to read it
A ROG Astral card on Windows	GPU Tweak III shows six pin currents under Power Detector+. Type the six numbers into the builder below.
A ROG Astral card watched by 12VHPWR Guard	The guard writes a flight file to its `logs` folder only when it limits the card or shuts the machine down. The file holds the minute before. It opens in the builder, and its row is kept apart from ordinary readings.
A ROG Astral card on Linux	A session file from astral-hwmon’s `log-session.py` opens in the builder.
A WireView Pro II or another meter	Type the six numbers it shows.

A log is summarised over the part of it that was under load. If 20 or more samples sit at 25 A total or above, the row uses those; otherwise it uses every sample at 6 A or above, or the whole log when fewer than 20 samples reach that. Peaks are kept apart. The highest single reading anywhere in the log is recorded beside the means.

Send a report

What you paste is read on this page, inside your browser. None of it is sent anywhere until you open the report on GitHub yourself.

This builder needs JavaScript. Without it, the report form on GitHub takes the same report written by hand, and the census folder lists every field.

Sending needs a GitHub account, because the report is filed as an issue. No account? Copy the report and email it to contact@techfuelhq.com.

What has been published

Current count: 0 reports. No group has rows yet, so nothing is published.

A cable type publishes once it holds five readings taken at 6 A total or more. Below that it is listed as collecting, with its count and no figures.

Limits of this data

Reports come from people who chose to send them. An owner who saw a worrying number is more likely to report than one who saw nothing. The figures describe the rows in the dataset.
Only owners of measuring hardware can report. That is mostly ROG Astral cards, so the census says little about other cards until inline meters add rows.
The readings are as good as the sensor. ASUS’s guide to Power Detector+ gives no accuracy figure for it.
A reading at or above 9.2 A is counted and reported as a count. What it means for that connector is between its owner and the maker of the card and cable.

Use the data

The dataset is one file. submissions.csv holds one row per reading, in the field order above, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Attribute it as “TechFuelHQ open census” with a link to this page.

To size a supply for a card like these, the PSU wattage calculator works from the parts in the build. The coil whine census and the GPU sag census are the sibling datasets.

Change log

0.1.0 (2026-09-29): fields, load bands, report builder, validator and intake form. The census opened with 0 rows.

Drive Arrival Census: Hours on Recertified and Used Drives

LK Wood IV — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0500

A recertified or used hard drive costs less than a new one, and the first thing its buyer does is read how many hours it has run. The answer gets posted in forum threads one drive at a time. This seller, that model, so many hours.

In January 2025 heise online reported a second number. A reader had bought two Seagate drives as new. Their SMART values looked unremarkable, and their FARM logs held 10,000 and 15,000 hours. Seagate confirmed to heise that SMART values can be reset, and Tom’s Hardware reported in March 2025 that sellers had since found ways to alter the FARM values as well.

So a buyer has two hour counts on some drives, one on others, and no record of what either usually says for a given seller. That record is missing. A search in September 2026 turned up no dataset that collects arrival readings by seller and by what the listing called the drive, with the raw hour counts beside them.

This page opens that census. One row is one drive on the day it arrived. The data, the field definitions, the validator and the report form live in the open repository: github.com/iBlessi/techfuelhq-census (CC BY 4.0).

For what drives cost this month, see the HDD price index and the account of the 2026 drive supply squeeze.

How results are reported

For each seller and listing condition the census gives the number of drives, the median SMART hours at arrival, how many arrived dead or failed a first test, and how many had reallocated sectors. FARM figures need more rows. Where five or more drives in a group carry a FARM log, the census gives the median FARM hours and how many drives showed FARM more than 24 hours above SMART.

I publish no verdict on a seller. A recertified drive with thousands of hours in its FARM log may be exactly what its listing described, so the census reports the numbers beside the words on the listing and leaves the reading to the buyer.

What one row records

A row is one drive as it arrived. Of its 28 fields, you fill in 6, the reading fills in 19, 1 is worked out from the row and the maintainer sets 2.

All 28 fields of a row

Field	Filled by	What it records
`seller`	You	Seller. The shop, or the marketplace and the seller's name on it.
`listing_condition`	You	Condition on the listing
`purchase_month`	You	Bought. Year and month, written 2026-08.
`drive_vendor`	The reading	Drive maker
`model_family`	The reading, optional	Model family
`model`	The reading	Model
`capacity_tb`	The reading	Capacity (TB)
`interface`	The reading	Interface
`smartctl_version`	The reading, optional	smartctl version
`smart_poh`	The reading	Power-on hours, SMART
`smart_power_cycles`	The reading, optional	Power cycles, SMART
`reallocated`	The reading, optional	Reallocated sectors
`pending`	The reading, optional	Pending sectors
`offline_uncorrectable`	The reading, optional	Offline uncorrectable
`crc_errors`	The reading, optional	Interface CRC errors
`load_cycles`	The reading, optional	Load cycles
`farm`	The reading	Seagate FARM log
`farm_poh`	The reading, optional	Power-on hours, FARM
`farm_spindle_poh`	The reading, optional	Spindle power-on hours, FARM
`farm_head_flight_hours`	The reading, optional	Head flight hours, FARM
`farm_power_cycles`	The reading, optional	Power cycles, FARM
`farm_assembly_printed`	The reading, optional	Assembly date, as smartctl printed it. Four digits, kept as printed. smartctl labels them year and week. On the two Seagate drives in the test data each pair arrives with its digits swapped, so 2264 reads as week 46 of 2022.
`poh_gap_h`	Worked out from the row	FARM hours minus SMART hours
`arrived`	You	How it arrived
`first_test`	You	Test run before use
`notes`	You, optional	Notes
`submitted_date`	The maintainer	The day the report was sent
`source_issue`	The maintainer	The issue the row came from

Listing conditions

Value	Meaning
`new`	Sold as new
`manufacturer-recertified`	Sold as manufacturer recertified
`seller-refurbished`	Sold as seller refurbished or renewed
`used`	Sold as used
`open-box`	Sold as open box

Record the condition as the listing stated it on the day you bought, in the listing’s own category.

How to take the reading

Read the drive before it holds anything, with smartmontools 7.4 or later.

Connect the drive directly, by SATA or SAS. heise notes that a FARM query through a USB adapter may not work.
Run smartctl -x on the drive and keep everything it prints.
On a Seagate drive, run smartctl -l farm as well.
Paste both into the builder below.

smartctl -x /dev/sdX
smartctl -l farm /dev/sdX

Replace /dev/sdX with your drive. Both commands only read. Adding -j prints the same data as JSON, and the builder reads that too.

The output holds the drive’s serial number. The builder reads past it, the report has no place to put it, and a paste in which it would land in the report is refused. Paste one drive at a time. The builder is tested against output that other owners published, which is listed with the test data in the repository.

Reading the hours

What the drive shows	What it means
SMART and FARM agree to within a day	The two counters tell the same story. That does not prove the drive is new; both can be altered.
FARM is far above SMART	The SMART counter was reset at some point in the drive’s life. On drives sold as new, this is the gap heise’s readers found.
No FARM log	The drive is from another maker, or is a Seagate model that does not keep one. SMART is the only hour count.

Send a report

What you paste is read on this page, inside your browser. None of it is sent anywhere until you open the report on GitHub yourself.

This builder needs JavaScript. Without it, the report form on GitHub takes the same report written by hand, and the census folder lists every field.

Sending needs a GitHub account, because the report is filed as an issue. No account? Copy the report and email it to contact@techfuelhq.com.

What has been published

Current count: 0 reports. No group has rows yet, so nothing is published.

A seller and listing condition publish at five drives. Below that the group is listed as collecting, with its count and no figures.

Limits of this data

Reports come from people who chose to send them. A buyer who found a surprise is more likely to report than one who found what the listing promised.
Hour counts can be altered. The census records what the drive reported and cannot say what is true.
A seller’s stock changes. Rows carry the month of purchase, and a figure from last year says little about a pallet that arrived last week.
A drive that worked on arrival can fail in its first month. The census records the day of arrival and nothing after it.

Use the data

The dataset is one file. submissions.csv holds one row per drive, in the field order above, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Attribute it as “TechFuelHQ open census” with a link to this page.

If the drive is going into a machine you already own, building a NAS from an old PC covers the rest of the build. The coil whine census is the sibling dataset that started this series.

Change log

0.1.0 (2026-09-29): fields, the smartctl and FARM reader, validator and intake form. The census opened with 0 rows.

Monitor Says No Signal? Find Where Your PC Stops (2026)

LK Wood IV — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0500

By LK Wood IV · 2026-09-29 · ~10 min read · St. Louis County, MO

No Signal is a message the monitor draws itself. It means the monitor has power and working electronics, and that the input it is set to carries nothing. Dell reads an amber or blinking power light on its monitors the same way, as power with no video coming in, and puts the problem in the computer or the cable. ASUS monitors use amber for the same state.

So the question that matters is how far the PC gets before a picture should appear.

A machine that never reaches its startup logo needs different work from one that shows the logo and then loses the picture as Windows loads, and a machine that was fine until you swapped memory or cleared the CMOS may need nothing but a few minutes of patience. This page follows that split. The free checks come first.

It is written for a PC whose fans spin and lights come on. If the power button does nothing at all, the PC is not starting, and that is a different fault, covered in computer won’t turn on. If the picture drops out for a second and comes back, the monitor keeps going black guide covers it.

Four checks at the desk

None of these needs a screwdriver.

Choose the input by name. Open the monitor’s menu with its button or joystick and pick the exact port the cable is in, HDMI 1, HDMI 2 or DisplayPort. Samsung notes that most monitors pick the live source on their own and sometimes pick the wrong one. It also warns that a monitor with two video cables attached may be listening on the wrong cable, so run this test with one cable.
Use the graphics card’s ports. A desktop with a graphics card has two sets of video ports on the back, and the card’s set is usually the lower one. Dell calls the motherboard’s port a common cause of a no-signal screen, especially on gaming desktops. LG gives the same instruction: with a dedicated card, the cable goes into the card.
Reseat the cable at both ends. LG’s version is to unplug it completely, look for bent pins or debris, plug it back in firmly, and try another cable if nothing changes. Take any dock, KVM switch or adapter out of the path while you test; Microsoft lists docks, dongles and adapters as a source of conflicts with external monitors.
Press Num Lock a few times and watch its light. This is LG’s test, and the answer splits the rest of this page. A light that turns on and off means the PC is running. LG reads a light that never changes as a PC that is likely frozen. On a machine that has just been switched on, I read it as a PC that never finished its startup checks. If the keyboard has no Num Lock light, use Caps Lock.

Some motherboard ports can never show a picture, whatever cable you use. Intel’s naming guide defines the F on a desktop processor as “Requires discrete graphics”, and AMD lists the Ryzen 7 5800X and the Ryzen 5 7500F as “Discrete Graphics Card Required” — on those chips the HDMI port on the motherboard carries nothing. Even with a processor that has graphics, Intel says some desktops switch them off once a graphics card is installed. Moving the cable to the motherboard is a test with a catch, then. A working PC can show No Signal there too.

Where the PC stops

What you see	Where it stops
No startup logo, and the Num Lock light never changes	Before the logo
No picture right after new memory, a CMOS reset or a first build	Memory training
The logo and BIOS show, then the screen dies as Windows loads	Windows output
HDMI works and DisplayPort shows No Signal	The DisplayPort link
No Signal only when the PC wakes from sleep	DisplayPort hot-plug after sleep

Wait three minutes after new memory or a CMOS reset

A PC that has had its memory changed or its CMOS cleared retrains the memory on the next start, and the screen stays blank until that finishes. ASUS puts the training at about 1 to 3 minutes, depending on how much memory is installed, and asks you not to force the machine off while it runs. I treat the first boot of a new build the same way.

After training, a cold boot is far quicker. The ROG Strix B650-A I ran under a Ryzen 7 7800X3D took about 25 to 30 seconds to POST with a DDR5-6000 EXPO kit, as I noted in my review of that board. A screen still dark after a minute on an ordinary restart is worth chasing. After a memory change, a minute proves nothing.

I don’t read the debug lights, and I don’t touch the power button, until three minutes are up.

Read the debug LEDs

Many motherboards carry four small lights labelled CPU, DRAM, VGA and BOOT. ASUS calls them Q-LEDs and usually puts them near the 24-pin power connector or the memory slots, MSI calls them EZ Debug LEDs, and Gigabyte calls them Status LEDs. All three use them the same way. A light that stays on after power-up names the stage that failed, or in MSI’s words, the LED for the failing hardware “will remain constantly on”.

Light	What the maker says	What I do first
DRAM	No memory, or faulty memory (ASUS)	Reseat each stick until the latches close, then boot on one stick in the slot the manual names
VGA	No graphics card, or a faulty one (ASUS)	Reseat the card and every power plug on it
CPU	No CPU, or a faulty one (ASUS)	Check the CPU power cable, then the board’s CPU support list
BOOT	The operating system has not started yet (Gigabyte); no boot device, or a faulty one (ASUS)	Go back to the port, the cable and the input

DRAM

ASUS’s order is to confirm each stick is fully seated, clean the contacts, use memory from the board’s support list, use the slots the manual recommends, and start on one stick before adding the others. If a single stick in the recommended slot still stops on DRAM, clear the CMOS as described below, then try other memory. ASUS’s last step for this light is to reinstall or change the CPU.

VGA

With a graphics card, ASUS says to reinstall it, clean the slot and the card’s gold contacts, and then try another card, and its graphics card guide adds a detail worth checking before any of that: on ASUS cards, a red LED at the power socket that stays lit points to the power cable, so reseat it and then try another. If the processor has graphics of its own, pull the card, connect the monitor to the motherboard and start the PC. MSI reads a picture there as a sign the card may have an issue. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D in my desktop allows this test, since AMD lists it with Radeon graphics.

The card-side work beyond that, from slots to power supply to BIOS settings, is in graphics card not detected.

CPU

MSI’s page covers two checks for this stage. One is the CPU power cable from the power supply. The other is the board’s CPU support list, because some boards need a BIOS update before they will run a newer processor. ASUS adds reseating the chip and checking the socket and pins for dirt or damage.

BOOT

Gigabyte’s manual says a lit BOOT LED means you haven’t entered the operating system yet, and ASUS points the same light at the boot drive. The board has already moved past its graphics light. With No Signal on the screen, I go back to the port, the cable and the input before I touch a drive.

No light stays on

Then the board believes it started. Press Num Lock again, and if the light responds, go to the Windows section below.

The minimal test and a CMOS reset

When the lights don’t settle it, or the board has none, strip the machine down. MSI’s test uses only the processor with its cooler, one stick of memory, the power supply and the monitor; USB devices, drives and other PCIe cards come out. If the PC shows a picture like that, put the parts back one at a time. The part that brings No Signal back is the fault.

Clearing the CMOS returns the BIOS to its defaults. MSI’s method is to disconnect the power completely, then either short the CMOS jumper, labelled JBAT1 on its boards, or remove the coin battery for 5 minutes. Expect the memory-training pause on the next start.

The logo shows, then Windows goes dark

If the maker’s logo or the BIOS screen appeared, the motherboard and the graphics card did their part. I treat that as Windows sending the picture to another display, or in a mode the monitor won’t accept.

Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B. Microsoft describes this as a reset of the graphics driver, and you hear a beep or see a flicker when it works.
Press Windows + P, then P again, then Enter. Microsoft’s blank-screen page gives that sequence for cycling the display modes, such as PC screen only, Duplicate and Extend, and you don’t need to see the screen to use it. It matters when a TV or a second monitor is plugged in and Windows is sending everything to that one. Repeat it a few times, a few seconds apart.
Unplug every display except one, and every USB device the PC doesn’t need to start. Dell recommends disconnecting nonessential devices when the screen is black at startup.
If the black screen began after a driver update, or after you raised the resolution or refresh rate, start in Safe Mode. Microsoft’s route is to hold the power button for 10 seconds to force the PC off, and to repeat that 2 to 3 times until Windows opens its recovery screen. Then choose Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart, and press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.

In Safe Mode, open Device Manager, expand Display adapters, open the card’s Properties and use Roll Back Driver on the Driver tab. If the display mode was the trouble, set a resolution and refresh rate the monitor supports; ASUS’s monitor guide gives the same Safe Mode step. For a clean driver reinstall after that, the DDU steps are in the GPU driver crash guide. If the first screen works and only a second one stays dark, Windows is not detecting it; that is covered in Windows 11 not detecting a second monitor.

DisplayPort no signal while HDMI works

A picture over HDMI and No Signal over DisplayPort means a working panel and a working graphics card. That leaves the DisplayPort link. BenQ’s list for this case covers these four steps, in the order I run them:

Open the monitor’s input list and confirm DisplayPort is there to select. If it is missing, BenQ’s advice is to check the cable is connected at both ends.
Unplug the DisplayPort cable and plug it back in, so the monitor detects the connection again.
If DisplayPort worked until recently, use HDMI to set the DisplayPort output to a resolution and refresh rate the monitor supports.
Update the graphics driver and the motherboard BIOS, over HDMI if DisplayPort shows nothing.

BenQ puts the driver and BIOS update before the resolution step. I leave the BIOS for last. I also suspect the cable here — if the trouble started when you raised the refresh rate or moved to a higher resolution, check that mode against the cable in the DisplayPort and HDMI bandwidth calculator before you buy another cable or blame the card.

A DisplayPort monitor that says No Signal only when it wakes from sleep has a separate fault, covered in the after-sleep section of the blackout guide.

When the monitor is the problem

The No Signal box shows the monitor can draw an image, so the suspect on the monitor side is its inputs. Connect a laptop or a console you know works, with the same cable and the same input. If that source gets No Signal too, try another cable with it. A monitor that shows nothing from two sources you trust has a fault in its input.

Before you call it, reset the monitor’s settings. On ASUS monitors the path is Menu > System Setup > Restore factory mode, and Dell monitors carry a self-test that checks the monitor on its own, with the steps for each model in its user guide.

Before you buy a part

Each branch ends at a swap. These are the points where I stop testing.

The graphics card shows no picture in a second PC whose power supply meets the card’s requirement. That card is faulty; if it is under warranty, start the maker’s RMA.
The DRAM light stays on with each stick alone in the slot the manual names, after a CMOS reset. ASUS’s next step is other memory.
The CPU light stays on with the chip reseated, the pins clean and the CPU power cable connected. ASUS’s final step is another CPU.
The minimal test still stops on memory and a processor that both work in another machine. What remains is the motherboard.

OLED Burn-In Census: What Owners See, by Panel and Hours

LK Wood IV — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Whether an OLED monitor will burn in is argued in every thread about buying one. The evidence on the table is mostly long tests of single monitors. Monitors Unboxed has used one MSI MPG 321URX for desktop work for 21 months and reported on it at intervals, and Notebookcheck’s account of the latest update puts it at about 5,000 hours, with burn-in that keeps worsening in the areas where it first appeared. That is one unit, used one way.

What nobody holds is the spread. How many owners see nothing after two years? How many see a faint taskbar line on a gray slide, and how many sent the monitor back? A search in September 2026 turned up no dataset of owner reports that records the panel, the hours and what the owner sees on a fixed scale.

This page opens that census. One row is one monitor, judged once by the person who owns it. The data, the field definitions, the validator and the report form live in the open repository: github.com/iBlessi/techfuelhq-census (CC BY 4.0).

My own OLED is the Gigabyte AORUS FO48U in this review. If you are choosing between an OLED television and a monitor for a desk, that comparison is in OLED TV as a PC monitor.

How results are reported

For each panel type the census gives the number of monitors, how many sit at each step of the scale, the median months in use, and how many warranty claims were approved or denied. Hours are handled with more care. Only hours read from the monitor’s own menu feed a median, and only once five rows in the group carry them.

It publishes no verdict on a model or a brand. Two owners of the same monitor can use it in ways that have nothing in common, one on spreadsheets for ten hours a day and the other on games for two, so the row records the use beside the result.

The scale

Value	Meaning
`0`	Nothing visible on a full-screen gray slide
`1`	Visible on a test slide, never in normal content
`2`	Visible in normal content when I look for it
`3`	Visible in normal use without looking
`4`	Replaced, returned or retired because of it

The steps are fixed. A change to their wording would make old and new rows incomparable, so it would be a new major version of the dataset with the old rows marked.

What one row records

A row is one monitor, judged once. Of its 18 fields, you fill in 16 and the maintainer sets 2.

All 18 fields of a row

Field	Filled by	What it records
`monitor_brand`	You	Monitor brand
`monitor_model`	You	Monitor model. The model number on the back label: AW3423DWF, FO48U, PG32UCDM.
`panel_type`	You	Panel
`size_in`	You, optional	Size (inches)
`purchase_month`	You	Bought. Year and month, written 2024-03.
`months_in_use`	You	Months in regular use
`panel_hours`	You, optional	Panel hours. From the monitor's own menu if it shows them. Leave empty if it does not and you would be guessing.
`hours_source`	You, optional	Where the hours come from
`use_mix`	You	What is on it most of the time
`brightness`	You, optional	Brightness
`care_cycles`	You	Panel care cycles
`static_mitigation`	You, optional	Habits
`severity`	You	What you see
`location`	You	Where
`warranty_claim`	You	Warranty claim for burn-in
`notes`	You, optional	Notes
`submitted_date`	The maintainer	The day the report was sent
`source_issue`	The maintainer	The issue the row came from

How to judge a panel

Let the monitor run for half an hour, then dim the room.
Open the test slides in the builder below. Start with dark gray, where faint marks show first.
Look where static things live on your screen: the taskbar, the edges of windows you keep in one place, the HUD of the game you play most.
Pick the step of the scale that matches what you see. If you see a mark only on a slide and never in normal content, that is a 1.
If the monitor’s menu shows panel hours, read them there. Leave the field empty if you would be guessing.

Send a report

What you paste is read on this page, inside your browser. None of it is sent anywhere until you open the report on GitHub yourself.

This builder needs JavaScript. Without it, the report form on GitHub takes the same report written by hand, and the census folder lists every field.

Sending needs a GitHub account, because the report is filed as an issue. No account? Copy the report and email it to contact@techfuelhq.com.

What has been published

Current count: 1 report. 1 of them counts toward a published figure. A group publishes at 5 counted rows.

Group	Reports	Counted	State
WOLED	1	1	Collecting

A panel type publishes once it holds five monitors that have been in regular use for a month or more. Below that it is listed as collecting, with its count and no figures.

Limits of this data

Reports come from people who chose to send them. An owner who found a mark is more likely to report than one who never looked.
The middle of the scale is a judgement. Steps 0, 1 and 4 are close to facts; the line between 2 and 3 is where two careful owners can differ.
Hours from a monitor’s menu are kept apart from estimates, and only menu hours feed a published median.
A row is one look at one monitor. It says nothing about what the same panel shows a year later unless its owner reports again.

Use the data

The dataset is one file. submissions.csv holds one row per monitor, in the field order above, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Attribute it as “TechFuelHQ open census” with a link to this page.

The coil whine census and the GPU sag census are the sibling datasets.

Change log

0.1.0 (2026-09-29): fields, the five-step scale, test slides, validator and intake form. The census opened with 0 rows.
2026-10-01: row 1, the maintainer’s own monitor (Gigabyte AORUS FO48U, WOLED, 48 inches, bought 2023-08, 37 months in regular use, mixed use, brightness high, panel care run by the monitor, severity 0, no warranty claim). The WOLED group is collecting.

POST Time Census: Firmware Boot Seconds by Platform

LK Wood IV — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Every PC times its own start. The firmware counts from power-on until it hands over to the operating system’s loader, and the system keeps that number. On Windows it appears in Task Manager as Last BIOS time, and on Linux systemd-analyze prints it as the firmware part of the startup line, beside the loader, the kernel and everything after.

On DDR5 platforms the number has grown, and memory training is the usual reason. A moderator’s guide on ASUS’s ROG forum describes training as the board testing and adjusting memory signal timings during POST, says later boots are quicker than the first, and says Memory Context Restore shortens cold boots further by skipping part of the work. Owners trade single readings in threads. This board, that BIOS, so many seconds. A search in September 2026 did not turn up those readings collected anywhere with the board, the BIOS and the memory beside them.

This page opens that census. One row is one boot of one machine. The data, the field definitions, the validator and the report form live in the open repository: github.com/iBlessi/techfuelhq-census (CC BY 4.0).

If the machine never reaches a picture, this is the wrong page. Monitor says no signal covers the wait after new memory or a CMOS reset, and computer won’t turn on covers a machine that does nothing.

How results are reported

For each platform, split by the state of the memory training shortcut, the census gives the number of readings, the median, the shortest and the longest firmware time in seconds, and how many board makers are among the rows.

It publishes no verdict on a board or a BIOS version. The same board with two memory kits is two different measurements, and a BIOS update replaces the firmware that does the training, so the row carries the memory and the BIOS version beside the time.

What one row records

A row is one boot of one machine. Of its 18 fields, you fill in 4, the reading fills in 12 and the maintainer sets 2.

All 18 fields of a row

Field	Filled by	What it records
`os`	The reading	Read from
`platform`	You	Platform
`cpu`	The reading	Processor
`board_vendor`	The reading	Board maker
`board`	The reading	Board
`bios_version`	The reading	BIOS version
`bios_date`	The reading, optional	BIOS date
`dimms`	The reading	Memory modules
`ram_gb`	The reading	Memory (GB)
`ram_speed`	The reading, optional	Memory speed as configured
`memory_fast_boot`	You	Memory training shortcut in the BIOS. Memory Context Restore on AMD boards, MRC Fast Boot on Intel boards.
`boot_kind`	You	How the machine was last started
`fast_startup`	The reading	Windows Fast Startup
`fw_post_ms`	The reading	Firmware time (ms)
`os_build`	The reading, optional	System build
`notes`	You, optional	Notes
`submitted_date`	The maintainer	The day the report was sent
`source_issue`	The maintainer	The issue the row came from

The memory training shortcut

Value	Meaning
`on`	On
`off`	Off
`auto`	Auto, as the board shipped
`unknown`	I have not looked

The setting is Memory Context Restore on AMD boards. The moderator’s guide gives its place in ASUS’s BIOS as Extreme Tweaker, then DRAM Timing Control. If you have not looked, say so. “Not checked” is a better row than a guess.

How to take the reading

On Windows, start the machine the way you usually do and sign in. Open PowerShell, which needs no administrator rights for this, then paste the line below and press Enter.

$p=Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power';$o=Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem;$b=Get-CimInstance Win32_BaseBoard;$f=Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS;$c=Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor|Select-Object -First 1;$d=@(Get-CimInstance Win32_PhysicalMemory);[ordered]@{census='post-time';v=1;os='windows';fw_post_ms=[int]$p.FwPOSTTime;fast_startup=$(if($null -eq $p.HiberbootEnabled){-1}else{[int]$p.HiberbootEnabled});board_vendor=$b.Manufacturer;board=$b.Product;bios_version=$f.SMBIOSBIOSVersion;bios_date=$(if($f.ReleaseDate){$f.ReleaseDate.ToUniversalTime().ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')}else{''});cpu=$c.Name.Trim();dimms=$d.Count;ram_gb=[int](($d|Measure-Object Capacity -Sum).Sum/1GB);ram_speed=[int]($d|Select-Object -First 1).ConfiguredClockSpeed;os_build=$o.BuildNumber}|ConvertTo-Json -Compress

It prints one line that starts with {. Copy that line into the builder below. The command reads the firmware time from the registry and the board, BIOS, processor and memory from Windows, and it prints no serial number, computer name or user name. The figure was checked against Task Manager on one Windows 11 build 26200 machine before publication: the registry held 63,981 milliseconds while Task Manager showed a Last BIOS time of 64.0 seconds.

On Linux, run systemd-analyze and paste what it prints. The builder asks for the board and BIOS by hand. If the line has no part marked (firmware), the machine did not pass a firmware time to systemd and there is nothing to report.

The reading belongs to the boot that started the session you are in. Say whether that was a restart or a start from off, because the two can differ.

Send a report

What you paste is read on this page, inside your browser. None of it is sent anywhere until you open the report on GitHub yourself.

This builder needs JavaScript. Without it, the report form on GitHub takes the same report written by hand, and the census folder lists every field.

Sending needs a GitHub account, because the report is filed as an issue. No account? Copy the report and email it to contact@techfuelhq.com.

What has been published

Current count: 1 report. 1 of them counts toward a published figure. A group publishes at 5 counted rows.

Group	Reports	Counted	State
AMD AM5, memory shortcut not checked	1	1	Collecting

A group publishes at five readings. Below that it is listed as collecting, with its count and no figures.

Limits of this data

Reports come from people who chose to send them. An owner annoyed by a slow start is more likely to report than one who never noticed.
The firmware reports its own time. A board that counts differently from another will read differently for the same wait.
Time spent in the BIOS setup screen is part of the figure. A boot where you entered setup is not a reading of the board.
The state of the memory training shortcut is the owner’s word. The system cannot read it.

Use the data

The dataset is one file. submissions.csv holds one row per boot, in the field order above, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Attribute it as “TechFuelHQ open census” with a link to this page.

My own board is the ROG Strix B650-A, reviewed here. The coil whine census is the sibling dataset that started this series.

Change log

0.1.0 (2026-09-29): fields, the Windows command, the systemd-analyze reader, validator and intake form. The census opened with 0 rows.
2026-09-30: row 1, the maintainer’s own desktop (ROG STRIX B650-A GAMING WIFI, BIOS 3881, one DDR5-6000 module, 63,981 ms after a cold boot, memory training shortcut not checked). The group is collecting.