Windows 7 BSOD

[scout2of3]

I have finally upgraded my PC with the new Sandy Bridge CPU and the like. Here are my specs:

MB - Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
CPU - Intel Core i7 2600K with Noctura NH-D14 HSF
RAM - Corsair Vengance 8GB
Graphics - EVGA GTX 570 SC HD ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130622 )
PSU - Corsair CX600

The problem I am having is that when I play BF: BC2, after about 20 - 30 minutes I get a BSOD which says it is due to a hardware issue/failure. I have eliminated my graphics card by putting my old GTX 460 in and I still have the issue. I ran the program WhoCrashed and it said it was due to the "hal.dll" file which is likely due to the overheating of a component.

I have stress tested both the cpu and the graphics card (using Prime95/CoreTemp 1.0 and FurMark/EVGA OC scanner). The GPU got up to 89C degrees and the highest any core on my cpu got was 63C. I also used CoreTemp to log the cpu temps while playing BF:BC2 and the hottest any core got was 54C.

I am at a loss right now on what to do. Although I haven't tried to recreate this issue by playing any other games. I do need help in trying to resolve this issue and any suggestions would be helpful, thanks.

Almost forgot, when I first built the system I noticed that in the BIOS the CPU was set at [X38] which set the speed of the cpu to 3.8 gHz. Not sure if this matters. I did try to reduce it to it's stock speed of 3.4 but it seems to not work or I am just an idiot (which could be the case as I don't know how to manually overclock).

[scout2of3]

I just played GTA IV for about an hour without any issues. I am just not sure if BF:BC2 is a heavily cpu dependent game. Maybe my psu isn't up to it.

I will play more games later on to see if I can recreate the issue.

[bob saget]

Have you tried lowering the quality of sound in the game? BC2 still crashes to desktop for me about once or twice a week.

[Shatmusket]

Here's an excellent OCing guide for Sandy Bridge.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110

[scout2of3]

Originally Posted by bob saget

Have you tried lowering the quality of sound in the game? BC2 still crashes to desktop for me about once or twice a week.

I will give that a try. I did just leave it on it's default setting. Thanks for the suggestion.

[scout2of3]

Originally Posted by Shatmusket

Here's an excellent OCing guide for Sandy Bridge.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578110

Thanks for the link to that article, it looks quite extensive. I will give it a read and see if I can fix my default overclock problem.

[nekrosoft13]

are you OC'ing? if you are set everything, and i mean every thing to default. this way you can figure out of your OC is unstable or some other issue might be causing it.

[scout2of3]

Originally Posted by nekrosoft13

are you OC'ing? if you are set everything, and i mean every thing to default. this way you can figure out of your OC is unstable or some other issue might be causing it.

I am trying to not overclock my cpu but, when I first built this system the multiplier was set at X38 by default which set the cpu at 3800 Mhz. I set the multiplier manually in the BIOS to X34 to achieve the correct clocking but now CPU-Z, along with the post, says the cpu is clocked at 3500 Mhz with a X35 multiplier. I am very confused.

[scout2of3]

I cleared the CMOS and this is what I get with the factory settings while running Prime95 and CPU-Z.

http://www.overclock.net/pc-games/68...shes-bsod.html

There's a hotfix linked in post #7. I don't know if it's good or not to tell the truth - I've read too much about hosts of major problems with this game, so never bought.

[scout2of3]

Originally Posted by grey_1

http://www.overclock.net/pc-games/68...shes-bsod.html

There's a hotfix linked in post #7. I don't know if it's good or not to tell the truth - I've read too much about hosts of major problems with this game, so never bought.

Sorry but the link to the hotfix requires a username and password. I looked around and I can't seem to create one.

The weird thing is that I never had this problem, or any other, with this game until I built this new system.

[scout2of3]

Originally Posted by bob saget

Have you tried lowering the quality of sound in the game? BC2 still crashes to desktop for me about once or twice a week.

I tried every combination that I could along with removing my X-FI sound card (along with the drivers) and using on board audio but nothing changed. I still get a BSOD after 20 minutes of game play due to a hardware failure.