Whea-logger - Fatal Hardware Error

So... a couple days ago, my system suddenly shut down, almost as if the power went out, but that was not the case. After I brought the system back up, I checked the event viewer, and discovered my worst fears... its pointing towards hardware issues. The first event I found was a bug check, see below:

The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x00000124 (0x0000000000000000, 0xffffe60d0a6c28f8, 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000). A dump was saved in: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\112116-20312-01.dmp. Report Id: a6f96bbb-71aa-4f68-9aee-7947a47c1956.

The second event I found is what worries me... logged under WHEA-Logger, see below:

A fatal hardware error has occurred.

Component: AMD Northbridge
Error Source: Machine Check Exception
Error Type: HyperTransport Watchdog Timeout Error
Processor APIC ID: 0

I researched very little, but from what I've learned, this doesn't sound good at all. From what I've gathered, there is a very slim chance that this could be driver related, but more likely its an issue with the CPU, or the RAM. Several suggested it could be due to overheating, but I am not overclocking the CPU, and I keep the dust off the fans, make sure the ventilation is good, etc. I highly doubt it's an issue with overheating.

The only good thing about this is that the machine is still under warranty, along with a 3 year extended warranty that I purchased. Right now, I'm just looking for any opinions or further information about this. It hasn't happened since, and I've never had any issues with my system before this. With over 3 years left on my warranty, I'm not pressed for time, so I thought I'd ride this out for a while and see if the issues reoccur or get worse.

Any further info would be helpful and appreciated, though. Thanks in advance.

 

WHEA errors are called by hardware, this one's a timeout error so it could possibly be some kind of driver/software logjam blocking something vital from getting through the Northbridge. This might only be happening with a specific set of software calls being made during a very short period.

Ensure it's clean internally and cooling efficiently, try uninstalling any 3rd party utility software or preventing it from auto-starting. Keep the running software to a minimum, just what you need to run, no added fluff.

Physically check the (usually passive, no fan attached) Northbridge cooler (when it's cool ), you might need to refit it with new some thermal paste. Temp. checks can readily be made on almost all components in software, I use HWiNFO, Sensors only.