BSOD IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL while playing SW:TOR and idling

XplicitMind said:

I believe my warranty is up for this card. RMA requires original receipt of purchase which I don't have so I don't have to worry about voiding any warranties. Alright I'll try to open up the casing of the card and blow as much as I can.

I'll see if it help with the temperature.

How about concerning thermal paste for my heat sink? Doesn't seem like my CPU is overheating or is it? Especially at idle.

As long as the CPU stays below 70C under heavy loads, it is fine.

Alright thanks. I'll be sure to remember this.

XplicitMind said:

Alright thanks. I'll be sure to remember this.

You want your GPU below 85C, in my opinion. If you are still getting well above that after cleaning the dust out, you may want to consider replacing the card or applying thermal paste between the card and fan (if this is possible) as its heatsink may no longer be in good contact.

Dave76 said:

XplicitMind said:

A quick question, can overheating be a factor as well? I have posted a image of my idle cpu/gpu temps. Usually when I game, my GPU averages around 80-90C and one time even surpassing 100C while my CPU usually goes around 55C to 62C at most.

If this is a problem, how should I go about this? I have 1 140mm front panel intake, 1 120mm top panel exhaust, 1 80mm back exhaust and 1 80mm side panel intake.

Since it's been a year since I set my HSF, I would assume that the thermal paste would disappear, should I reapply more thermal paste or do you think I should go and buy a different heat sink? Same goes for my GPU, should I reapply thermal paste on that too, my GPU being about 3 years old.

Your CPU is running too hot, AMD CPUs normally run cool.
AMD Phenom™ II X4 Product Details

Your CPU max temp is 62°C, add 5°C for the core temps, max is 67°C.

Most of the AMD CPUs run Prime95 at mid 40's °C, I would definitely re-apply the thermal paste.
Depending on your BIOS settings the CPU will throttle down at a preset temp, this may be happening on your system.

What CPU cooler do you have?

Thanks Dave, I guess I am more familiar with Intel. Glad you jumped in with your vast knowledge about hardware. :) Wish I could rep you, but I need to spread it around first. I'll add this to my list of posts to rep later. I've also cataloged the temperature scale that you've given for future reference when helping people, and I bookmarked the AMD Desktop processors page so I can check temperatures for any processors.

XplicitMind, I would also suggest checking for dust on the CPU heat sink if you have not already done so. I know you blew out the graphics card, but I failed to mention blowing out the heat sink for the CPU.

Also here is an image of my temps during idle. Do they seem normal for being idle?

CPU temperatures look a little high. What do they get to under stress?

Should be mid 30s during idle and 50s during stress. Yours are 43 during idle...

writhziden said:

CPU temperatures look a little high. What do they get to under stress?

Should be mid 30s during idle and 50s during stress. Yours are 43 during idle...

During stress it was around 54-58C. I'll be getting thermal paste today so should expect dip in temp. Just hope not much damage has been done to it.

Back to my recent BSOD, did it indicate anything other than memory corruption?

What was strange about this BSOD was that, I had the game running in the background and opened firefox and then it BSOD then BSOD again after a few minutes. Just yesterday I was running a heavy load, almost maxing out the 8GB and everything went fine. I find it weird.