Starfield - PC Shutting Down Reasons

Source: Starfield, Developer: Bethesda Softworks

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Even though the new production from Bethesda Games Studios is not fully released yet, there are hundreds of thousands of people already enjoying it. Starfield took Steam by storm, and we can only imagine what will happen when the official release takes place in a few hours. It was hard to believe that a game developed by Todd Howard and his team will not be plagued by bugs, but everything shows that it was indeed achieved. The fact that the title is not as glitchy on launch, as Bethesda’s previous titles were, doesn’t mean that it is not posing problems for some players. If your PC suddenly shuts down while playing Starfield, we have something that may catch your attention.

• PC turning off while playing Starfield explained
• Hardware problems in Starfield

PC turning off while playing Starfield explained

Some players have experienced their PC completely shutting down in certain moments of the game. Many of them connect this problem with hardware specifications, though it has also happened for players running Starfield on powerful devices well over game’s recommended system requirements.

Computer’s PSU (Power Supply Unit) can handle power draw that it’s rated for only a certain amount of time. It is impossible for it to be utilised 100% constantly (that’s why there is 80 Plus rating system, yet it’s a whole different story). The takeaway is that when the computer suddenly draws a lot of power for extended periods of time, it can indeed turn off as the PSU is not able to satisfy the power demand.

Overheating of components, especially overused CPU, can be another brick in the wall that plays its role in sudden PC shutdown. Before that, thermal throttling should happen to protect the processor though in extreme cases complete power off can be initiated.

Some players claim that the shutting down happens at random, others reported that it happened in specific story missions or during certain activities. At this point it is impossible to tell exactly what is causing this behaviour, though if you are also experiencing this issue, make sure that:

1. Your PC has sufficient cooling,
2. PSU is not overstrained (you can check that by using programs like HWMonitor),
3. As always check if your drivers are up to date.

Hardware problems in Starfield

Despite not being as buggy as previous productions from the same creators, Starfield unfortunately falls short when it comes to hardware optimisation. However, it doesn’t mean that the title is badly optimised and runs poorly even on stronger machines. In this regard it delivers quite reasonable experience.

The game takes its toll on computer’s CPU straining it a lot more than other games. There are also some issues when it comes to HDD performance, about which I wrote more here. Related to this is also an issue with game’s audio stutters.

Starfield does not utilise Nvidia’s DLSS though players have already dealt with that themselves. As of now, the game supports AMD’s FSR 2, however, it is possible that at some point the newest iteration of this technology will be available in the title also.

With all those limitations it is still a great game that even NASA praised for it’s more “human” approach to space exploration. With such a recommendation, it is worth giving it a shot despite its relatively minor shortcomings!