PC Diagnosis Desk

Respect the platform, diagnose the system

A calm checklist for PC problems.

Answer a few questions about your hardware, what changed, and what you can safely test. The result is a focused plan for Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, Radeon, Windows, Linux, storage, thermals, memory, and power issues.

Start diagnosis
1 Hardware 2 Symptoms 3 Safety 4 Results

Question 1 of 4

What platform are we diagnosing?

CPU platform
Graphics
Operating system

Question 2 of 4

What is the PC doing?

Question 3 of 4

What changed, and what can you test?

How comfortable are you opening the PC?

Question 4 of 4

Ready for the plan?

Review your selections, then generate a diagnosis plan.

Useful software links

Tools for temperature, stability, storage, and process checks

HWiNFO Sensors, CPU/GPU temps, clocks, power, throttling flags. GPU-Z GPU model, VRAM, bus interface, sensors, driver details. CrystalDiskInfo SMART health, drive temperature, reallocated sectors, warnings. OCCT Stability testing for CPU, GPU, VRAM, memory, and power. MemTest86 Bootable memory testing when RAM instability is suspected. Process Explorer Microsoft Sysinternals process view for runaway apps and handles. 3DMark Official UL graphics and gaming benchmarks for repeatable GPU comparisons. Cinebench Maxon CPU and GPU render benchmark for controlled performance checks. Blender Benchmark Open Blender benchmark data and client for CPU/GPU render performance. Geekbench Cross-platform CPU, GPU, and AI benchmark from Primate Labs. PerformanceTest PassMark system benchmark suite for CPU, 2D/3D, memory, and disk scores.

Download from official project pages, avoid ads and mirror sites, scan installers before running them, and watch temperatures during benchmarks. Stop a benchmark if temperatures spike, clocks collapse, or the PC becomes unstable.

Reference

Platform notes

Intel

Check motherboard BIOS support for the exact generation, Intel ME firmware, XMP stability, power limits, and thermal throttling behavior.

AMD

Check AGESA/BIOS version, EXPO or DOCP memory settings, chipset drivers, curve optimizer changes, and socket mounting pressure.

NVIDIA

Compare Game Ready and Studio drivers, clean-install when needed, check power connectors, frame generation settings, and overlay conflicts.

AMD Radeon

Check Adrenalin settings, shader cache, FreeSync behavior, driver-only installs, MPO issues, and power tuning stability.

Windows

Use Event Viewer, Reliability Monitor, Device Manager, Windows Memory Diagnostic, DISM/SFC, and clean boot tests.

Linux

Use dmesg, journalctl, lm-sensors, smartctl, memtest, kernel parameters, Mesa or proprietary GPU driver checks.