Thanks for the detailed specs — and no,
64 GB by itself is not the problem. The more likely issue is
stability: RAM training/EXPO, BIOS/AGESA, GPU driver state, thermals, PSU behavior, or a hardware fault. Crashes during games plus
full system crashes/reboots usually point more toward
driver/hardware/power instability than “too much storage” or ordinary app bugs. Threads with similar symptoms on the forum often ended up needing
dump files, MSINFO32, Event Viewer, and memory/hardware testing before the root cause became clear. In older comparable cases, helpers specifically asked for
minidumps and system info, and noted that repeated
Kernel-Power Event ID 41 by itself usually only means “Windows saw an unexpected shutdown,” not the real cause.
A few important points up front:
- Do not downsize from 64 GB to 32 GB just to test capacity. Capacity is rarely the issue.
- But 2×32 GB or 4 DIMMs at 6000 MT/s can absolutely be unstable depending on board/QVL/BIOS/IMC quality.
- If you have EXPO enabled, that is one of the first things I would test.
- If the whole PC is crashing, I would not assume “GPU” yet, even if it mostly happens in games.
What I’d do first
Please try these in order:
- Update BIOS to the latest stable version for your motherboard.
- On Ryzen platforms, memory compatibility and general stability often improve with BIOS updates.
- Load BIOS defaults, then:
- disable EXPO/XMP
- run RAM at JEDEC/default speed temporarily
- no CPU/PBO/manual OC
- no GPU OC/undervolt
- Clean-install the NVIDIA driver
- ideally use DDU in Safe Mode, then install the latest stable NVIDIA driver
- during testing, avoid MSI Afterburner / RTSS / overlay tools
- Check temps under load
- CPU, GPU, motherboard, hotspot
- Check Windows reliability data
- Reliability Monitor
- Event Viewer → System/Application
- Run memory and hardware tests
- MemTest86
- Windows Memory Diagnostic is okay as a quick pass, but MemTest86 is better
- Prime95/OCCT for CPU/RAM stability
- OCCT or a controlled GPU stress test
- If you have 2 sticks, test with one stick at a time in the recommended slot.
- If you have 4 sticks, that raises RAM stability suspicion significantly at 6000 MT/s.
Forum cases with mixed BSODs/freezes often ended up pointing to
RAM, motherboard, memory controller, or general hardware instability, even when the user first suspected the GPU. In one similar example, the issue only appeared in
dual-channel operation, which strongly suggested board/memory-path instability rather than simple software failure.
About your RAM suspicion
Your instinct is reasonable, but I’d phrase it differently:
- “64 GB” is probably fine.
- “64 GB at 6000 MT/s” might be the problem.
- Especially if:
- it’s 4 DIMMs
- EXPO is on
- SoC/DRAM settings are auto but not happy
- BIOS is not current
So rather than removing half the RAM immediately, test this first:
- Set memory to default / non-EXPO
- If stable, try a lower tuned speed like 5600 or 5200
- If still unstable, test one DIMM pair only
- Then rotate sticks/slots if needed
What I need from you
Please post as many of these as you can:
1) Crash behavior
Tell me which of these happens:
- BSOD with stop code
- black screen and reboot
- game closes to desktop
- full freeze requiring power button
- screen goes black but audio continues
- driver timeout / “display driver stopped responding”
2) Exact hardware details
Please add:
- motherboard make/model
- PSU make/model/wattage
- RAM kit model number
- number of sticks: 2x32? 4x16?
- storage drives
- CPU cooler
- case/airflow
3) Windows logs/files
Please upload or paste:
- Minidumps from
C:\Windows\Minidump
- If present, note whether you have a full dump at
C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP
- MSINFO32
- press Start → type
msinfo32
- File → Save → save
.nfo
- DxDiag
- run
dxdiag
- Save All Information
- Event Viewer
- Windows Logs → System
- look for errors around the crash time
- especially WHEA, Display, BugCheck, Kernel-Power
- Reliability Monitor
- press Start and search
Reliability Monitor
- screenshot the crash history
That request is consistent with prior troubleshooting on the forum, where helpers asked for
minidumps,
MSINFO32, and event information before making conclusions.
Especially look for these clues
If you see any of the following, tell me:
- WHEA errors
often hardware/CPU/RAM/board related; older cases with 0x124 WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR were treated as hardware-first problems.
- nvlddmkm
may implicate NVIDIA driver/GPU, but forum examples show that apparent NVIDIA crashes can still be caused by bad RAM or broader instability.
- Kernel-Power 41
useful as confirmation of abrupt shutdown, but not the root cause by itself.
- Prime95 rounding errors / memory stress failures
these strongly suggest hardware instability such as RAM, CPU cache, or memory controller.
My current best guess
Based on your symptoms alone, my shortlist would be:
- RAM/EXPO instability
- BIOS/AGESA issue
- GPU driver or overlay conflict
- PSU/power transient issue
- Less likely: faulty GPU
- Also possible: motherboard issue
Best immediate test
If you want the fastest high-value test tonight:
- Update BIOS
- Disable EXPO
- Remove all overclocks/undervolts
- Clean install NVIDIA driver
- Test the same game again
- If it still crashes, upload:
- minidumps
- MSINFO32
- DxDiag
- Reliability Monitor screenshot
If you want, send me those files/logs next and I’ll help you narrow it down step by step.
