High-quality pictures, movies, and other types of material are rendered using a graphics processing unit or GPU. The quality of the produced graphics increases with a good-quality graphics card. The GPU is essential to those related to gaming, graphic, architecture designing, and graphics-intensive disciplines. If you’re a competitive gamer, you must install the best GPU to stay up with the visuals of the most recent games. You may also require a graphics card if you’re a high-end developer or test AI programs. 

A GPU generates pictures more quickly since it employs a parallel processing structure. Even if there is a graphics card, you may face the issue of the blue screen of death, BSoD. It is critical to identify which component is causing this issue if you’re facing it. In BSoD, Microsoft Windows shows some errors on the screen due to system mismanagement. When Windows freezes, the only way to keep it from shutting down is to reboot the computer. But can graphics card cause blue screen? Let’s explore this mystery!

What is the purpose of a graphic card?

Most computing machines are equipped with a graphics card or video card, which shows graphical data with excellent clarity, color, definition, and overall look. A graphics card offers high-quality visual presentation by processing and executing graphical data utilizing cutting-edge graphical techniques, features, and functions. The primary purpose of a graphics card is to free either RAM or the CPU from having to handle graphic processing. It has a dedicated GPU and dedicated RAM, making it easier to handle graphical data fast. 

Can graphics card cause blue screen?

A graphics card handles various tasks between the input from the operating system and active applications and the output to the monitor. For instance, an outdated, poor graphics card could only provide low resolution, insufficient color depth, limited color spaces and formats, etc. GPU hardware won’t result in a BSoD, but its driver will, as every piece of hardware under an OS has a separate driver, and software utilizes drivers to connect with hardware. The way a driver handles defects varies.

When the graphics card or more of the PC components fail, Windows cannot fix it, and the BSOD appears. The user will receive a restart request from Windows. It is crucial to remember that there are solutions to this problem, which I’ll go through later. By terrible, we mean unreliable. And indeed, a BSoD can result from it. This is because Windows is identifying an issue with the broken hardware but is unable to fix it. This is why purchasing a GPU for your intended usage is crucial.

In addition, the blue screen, meant to alert the user that something is malfunctioning and needs to be fixed, will appear on an overheating computer. Overloaded processors are more prone to experience overhead, especially when playing video games. While playing a game won’t harm your computer, placing a GPU under stress may reveal problems with the GPU cooling system. Therefore, a graphics card with bad thermal management can also cause graphics-related issues and a blue screen of death. 

What are the possible reasons for the blue screen?

You may face the blue screen issue on your computer for multiple reasons. Those include

  • Bad GPU drivers
  • Overheating graphics card
  • Faulty CPUs
  • Poor power supplies
  • Defective RAM or motherboards
  • Incompatible accessories

How do you fix a blue screen problem?

Suppose you’re facing the  BSoD issue. In such a case, you can follow a few steps and troubleshoot the reasons behind the problem and its possible solution. Do a few things to get your PC working again. Those include

Step 1: The first step is to confirm that the problem is, in fact, a hardware one. Through troubleshooting, you can rule this out. Try updating the drivers to overcome the issue if it’s happening due to software. If none of your attempts are working to resolve the issue, there could be a hardware issue.

Step 3: You can fix a Blue screen by doing a system restore before looking at hardware components. Go to settings > Advanced Options in your troubleshooter > select System Restore.

Step 4: You may put your computer through a stress test to find out what might cause the issue if it is overheating. There are other ways to test different hardware parts, but in this article, I’ll focus on the approach for the GPU and overheating.

Step 5: What signs indicate an overheated computer? Next, use a built-in program like SpeedFan to check your PC’s thermal performance. It reveals the true capabilities of ventilation, dust, or a broken fan.

Step 6: You may need to delete and reinstall your drivers if you have BSoD issues. These problems should be fixed, and then BSoD should no longer occur. Whether it doesn’t, you should see if the app is having any other issues.

Conclusion

The blue screen of death or BSoD may happen for several reasons. This may occur due to a faulty processor, a defective power supply unit, a bad motherboard, and other peripheral devices. But can a graphics card cause a blue screen issue? Well, a graphics card doesn’t directly cause this issue, but its software may do. If there is a wrong GPU driver, there are chances that you may face BSoD. In addition, the bad thermal conditions of a graphics card can also cause it.

Overloaded processors are more prone to experience overheating, especially when playing games. If none of your attempts are working to resolve the issue, there could be a hardware issue. Click on Advanced Options in your troubleshooter, then select System Restore. You may put your computer through a stress test to find out what might cause the issue if it is overheating. Next, use a built-in program like SpeedFan to check your PC’s ventilation, dust, or a broken fan.

Zohaib Hassan Bhatti
Zohaib Hassan is a staunch tech enthusiast and has been writing about his interactions with computers for years. He has been serving the PCIdeaz as a content manager along with experimenting and testing numerous tech masterpieces. Indeed, he often forgets about eating his spicy snacks when has his head on the computer screen.