I've had similar issues like this when the memory on my gaming vid cards was going bad due to overheating. Artifacts on the screen can be a failing vid card issue. Do you have a warranty on the card? Generally the manufacturer offers anywhere from a 1-3 year warranty depending on the manufacturer. In my case, I called the manufacturer 1 year and 1 month after I bought the card. Technically they only offered a year warranty, but they honored mine even though I was a month over and acknowledged the memory was starting to go (the video ram). Can you install the card in another system and test it out there?