Starcraft II Frying Video Cards?

Tales of Starcraft 2 and frying video cards is spreading quickly. But what exactly is happening?

It was first reported within hours of release: gamers losing video cards in desktops and laptops to overheating while playing Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty.

A bug was identified and reported by Blizzard Entertainment which allowed uncapped frame rates in the menu screen of Starcraft 2, and they announced a fix.

Some gamers believe this is the cause of their problems, and went on to say as much. However, evidence indicates these video cards are failing for reasons other than Starcraft 2, and that it simply pushed them over the edge. These reasons include:

• Errors in software drivers for the cards
• Unusually warm operating conditions
• Inadequate PC cooling (due both to design and contamination)

Thus, the primary argument against Starcraft being the cause is simply that a proper hardware setup (design, implementation, & maintenance) usually doesn't fail when pushed, even to its design limits. This is especially true if it hasn't been overclocked.

Of course, substantial controversy surrounding this has erupted.

Thus far, the problem does seem to be minimal, affecting especially those cards that are not certified by Blizzard as compatible.

Read more about Starcraft II's system requirements here...