Graphic errors on screen, need help

[Bulldog]

Here's my specs:

P4 3.0
Abit IC7-G MAXII ADVANCE i875P
1GB Infineon PC3200 (2x512) 2.5-3-3-6
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256
Audigy2 ZS
Thermaltake 480 PS
Seagate IDE 7200 HD 8MB

A few days ago I started getting little "things" popping up on the screen in a game I was playing. I exited the game and they still happened in XP. Shut off the comp for a while and turned it back on, they came back after a while. Today the screen became so garbled a few seconds after loading XP that I couldn't see anything at all. I swapped out my monitor with an older CRT I have in the closet. Worked fine for a few hours, then the crap start coming up on the screen again. Any thoughts? I'm thinking graphics card, but I dunno....

 

[$|!m]

hey, yer it sounds like its your grafix card. Its because the card is gettin 2 hot (the piplelines heet up and **** up). Chek you grafix card, and make sure that the cooler on it is attached properly. If it is, make sure that the fan is running when you turn on the comp. If its really broken, you can get a replacment Heatsink + Fan for the 9800 series, (ive got 1), they help ALOT with overclocking. But i would advise that you 1st try and return i if it turns out that the cards fan isnt working.
Gd luk

 

[ag3]

If you are experiencing graphical errors, then one (or more) of the components on the video card has gone defective.

If you are experiencing artifacts, then the video card is being subjected to too much heat. You can resolve the issue by either reducing the frequency/voltage, or by replacing the cooling device with something more effective.

 

[Bulldog]

So at the suggestion of a friend, I pulled out the card and reseated it. It worked fine for a week or two, but now the problems back. Going to return the card, and buy a better one.

So my new question is this: If I put a new card in, do I just install the card, and download the latest drivers and that's it?

Here's what I'm thinking of getting:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-196&depa=1

 

[intercodes]

Bulldog,

Your old AGP card drivers will be hanging around the system . Log in to safe mode and remove those old drivers first . Your driver CD comes along with the card, so no need to download drivers. Just plugin the card and install the new drivers.

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