CPU frequency fluctuation.

It is not a false statement when one suggest to run your system cooler is better.

It depends on where you are starting from.

80°C to 50°C is better. But 50 to 40 is not better! Neither is 40 to 30.

It does not improve performance, stability, or life expectancy of the hardware.

I never stated that is wrong to run a stock cooler. You are putting word in my post along with many others post by others.

What? I never said you did! I said most users don't need aftermarket coolers. So who is putting words in others mouths?

I am not here to argue either. I am just here to ensure posters have the true "facts" - not rumors, or unsubstantiated opinions that don't apply to today's technologies.

Have a good day.

I didn't think this would turn in to some kind of debate, but..

Disabling the Intel SpeedStep in the BIOS solved this issue. For whatever reason it wasn't initializing like it should have, and I haven't had any of the symptoms since doing so.

Sorry for the necro, but I've been busy with other things.. like trying to figure out why I'm suffering from BSODs now (almost positive it's hardware related at this point), and why my thread about it here (in the proper section, no less) was deleted.

Going to mark this one as solved.