Today I started it up under Ubuntu from flashdrive and it has ran for hours, plugged in and without issue.
I called MSI, as well. I wanted to try and restore through the factory image, but it wasn't working. Instead they said that because I've shipped the unit recently for inspection I am entitled to a 3 months extended warranty period for free. They have stated somewhere in their documents that they do not handle software problems, although I do not know how the issue would be classified.
Opinions?