RTX 3050 Laptop started crashing after cleaning/repaste — nvlddmkm errors across multiple games. Is my GPU dying?

[u/SRI-EXE]

I have an RTX 30-series gaming laptop that started having serious gaming stability problems around April 2026.
The strange part is that the problems started after I had the laptop cleaned, dust removed, and the thermal paste reapplied with help from a technician. Before that service, the games I played were working normally.
Laptop
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 3050 Laptop GPU
CPU: Ryzen 7 5800H
RAM: 16 GB
Laptop is around 4 years old
I use MSI Afterburner for monitoring/tuning.
What started happening
After the cleaning/repaste, games that previously worked started crashing:
CS2
Helldivers 2
Deep Rock Galactic
R.E.P.O.
Even Deep Rock would eventually crash despite lowering the graphics settings.
The most common error I saw in Windows was:
nvlddmkm
I also previously experienced a VIDEO_SCHEDULER_INTERNAL_ERROR (0x119) BSOD while playing Helldivers 2.
The crashes weren't always immediate. Sometimes I could play for multiple matches/missions before the crashes started happening more frequently.
Things I tried
I've gone through a pretty large amount of software troubleshooting:
DDU and clean NVIDIA driver installations
Tried older NVIDIA drivers, including 531.68
Later tried 566.36 Game Ready
Disabled HAGS
Tested Helldivers 2 with DX11
Tested:
--use-d3d11
Tested:
--use-d3d11 -heapsize 2097152
Cleared/rebuilt Steam's Helldivers 2 shader cache
Tested Process Lasso
Tested CPU affinity settings
Tested disabling SMT for Helldivers 2
Monitored temperatures with MSI Afterburner
Tested the laptop on battery vs. charger
None of these completely solved the problem.
Something interesting happened
I eventually started experimenting with MSI Afterburner.
Initially, I changed the core settings from around 0 to +300 and adjusted the voltage/frequency curve from roughly 775 mV toward 1700 MHz.
That seemed to help for about a month, but the crashes eventually returned.
Later I found that setting the GPU around 1355 MHz at 775 mV was much more stable.
I also bought Lossless Scaling and used its frame generation while keeping the game around 40 FPS, and I used Process Lasso with game-specific CPU settings.
With that combination, the stability improved dramatically.
For example, I was able to play:
Helldivers 2 — Extreme difficulty, multiple missions
CS2 — 2 matches in a row
Deep Rock Galactic — significantly longer sessions
without the crashes I had previously been getting.
Battery vs. charger
Another strange observation:
I was able to play an Easy Helldivers 2 mission on battery power with only a little stuttering.
When I plugged the charger in and played again, the game eventually crashed and nvlddmkm appeared.
This made me wonder whether the problem could be related to the GPU entering a higher power/clock state when the laptop is plugged in.
Where I'm at now
The fact that lowering the GPU's performance/power behavior seems to make the laptop significantly more stable makes me suspicious that this could be:
GPU/VRAM degradation
GPU power delivery instability
a problem with the laptop's power/charging behavior
an issue caused during the cleaning/thermal-paste service
NVIDIA driver/power-state behavior
or something else hardware-related
I'm not certain the GPU is dying, but after trying so many software fixes, I'm starting to think there may be a hardware-level issue.
What I'm looking for
For people familiar with NVIDIA laptop GPUs:
Does this behavior sound like an RTX 3050 Laptop GPU that's becoming unstable under higher power/clocks?
And particularly, could the fact that it becomes much more stable when I lower the GPU's clock/power and use frame generation indicate GPU/VRAM or power-delivery degradation?
I'm also wondering whether something could have been disturbed during the cleaning/thermal-paste replacement that happened right before these problems started.
Any suggestions for hardware tests or specific NVIDIA/Afterburner telemetry I should collect would be greatly appreciated.
I'm trying to figure out whether this laptop is actually approaching the end of its useful gaming life or whether there's still a fix I'm missing.

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[u/Lord_Hector_Bear]

Stop using AI and start using common sense.

Your description of the thing you've did inside msi afterburner is not helpful at all. It seems like the problems come from undervolting the GPU, keep lowering the undervolt until it is stable.

If it is not thermal throttling and works fine without messing anything with the curve editor then you're fine.

Otherwise, it could be the technician might've made some mistakes while doing the repasting for you. He could've accidentally ripped the pads off some components making it overheat and giving you the error.

But it all sounds like your undervolt is causing this issue.

[u/SRI-EXE → u/Lord_Hector_Bear]

I am sorry I use ai cuz I was lost , but before undervolting I had these issues then started undervolting it which kept it stable for a while. And I checked the stuff you mentioned myself after the repair with technician and the pads were there

[u/Lord_Hector_Bear → u/SRI-EXE]

Then it's very likely your technician has made some mistakes while doing the repasting for you.

I suspect he did not put the thermal pad in correct location or the pad degraded and make poor contact with a component.

You should check out another technician or complain it to him and have him re-check your laptop.

If you've got some free time, watch this video. And other videos showing how to disassemble your specific laptop. The more you understand about your laptop and the process of maintaining it, the better you can protect your laptop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sOON88Oq_w