constant BSOD [resolved. see last post]

UPDATE: after tweaking around all graphics options, texture quality, "-gc 2", vsync and whatnot - the solution came from and unexpected source: sound card.

all information and solution in this thread http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/51323.
"--softwareaudio" seems to have solved both the BSOD and the sound volume problem.

unexpected, because my card isn't one of those mentioned in that thread (and isn't really a "card").
just another reason to try all options no matter how irrelevant they may seem :)

like I said previously, this has nothing to do with my hardware spec being weak in today's standards. the game ran well before, even on higher settings than what I use now.

huh, i thought almost all the blue screens from audio were all to do with dedicated audio cards and not integrated(which yours is as far as i can tell)
Even then most of the blue screen problems have been fixed in audio driver updates.

Maybe one of the new audio files or the "Continued to incrementally improve the sound, art, effects and environments" causing some problems