Artifacts only pop up during games, need a new video card?

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Awhile back I was trying to play a new game and the game started to freeze up or show strange artifacts so I decided that I needed to update my drivers. After updating my drivers It only got worse and I can barely play anything. During normal computer usage its fine except for one rare occasion when it said that the display drivers failed. It used to just show random artifacts each time but lately its been seperating into a ton of horizontal bars that slowly get fuzzier and fuzzier.

My card is a 512MB nVidia GeForce 9600GT GDDR3 PCI Express DVI/Tvout
 
When you updated your drivers did you use a driver cleaner to first make sure all the old drivers were removed before installing new ones?

Go with davexnet's suggestion first and find what your videocard temps are because heat will cause all kinds of issues. Check to see if your fan is working.

However, your experience and the way you describe the bars, etc. sounds like your card is dying.
 
I didnt use the driver clean up no but I just tested my temps during normal running and its staying at 40 degrees celsius.

The fan is also working
 
Was this card in the PC from day one ? Did it ever work properly ?
What changes (if any) were made before it started acting up ?
 
Yes this card has been in my computer since the day I've had it, Its been little over a year now, when it first started acting up it was right after I had updated the drivers for the first time since getting the computer. Before that it worked perfectly
 
Vista or Xp ?
Uninstall the Nvidia driver from add/remove programs and reboot the system.

What happens when if restarts? Does it reinstall new drivers automatically,
or do you get a chance to intervene, and cancel the operation ?
 
Using Windows XP, when i reboot after uninstalling it does not automatically start reinstalling it says to click an icon in the start bar tray and the new hardware wizard comes up, but I am able to cancel that.
 
I first hunch is overheating... Open up your case, blow out all the dust and leave your case open. Try it again.
 
Artifacts are often caused by overheating. Going up 30c+ when under full load is normal. My 8800 was going from mid 50s to over 90 till I went from stock to an aftermarket cooling solution. Do what TomDEA said only if you have a desk fan set it to blow directly into your case and see what happens.
 
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