scrambled monitor mystery...

[scott123]

ok, so here is the setup i'm currently using:

asus pk5se motherboard
pentium 4 core 2 duo conroe 2.66ghz lga 775 processor
antec earthwatts 430w psu
xfx geforce 8600 gt 256mb 128 bit gddr3 pci express 16x video card

Here is the course of events which may be relevant to the problem:

I reformatted my computer about a week ago. I'm running xp pro. Nothing special, just a routine format and everything went fine. I then bought a new dell ultrasharp 24" lcd monitor to replace my lacie crt monitor. Worked right out of the box, image looks great! Max resolution on the monitor was 1920x1200. I then proceeded to play half life 2: episode for several hours and it never had been so much fun. I cranked the video options all the way up, including setting the resolution at max. Game ran fine, no freezes, no hiccups. I typically leave the computer on 24/7 and only restart when i need to, and let the monitor sleep. I went to bed, went to work, and come back home to find my computer has been turned off. I am positive it is not due to the power going out, since all of my other electronics were still on, including the monitor. I then restarted the computer to find a completely scrambled, colorful image. I hooked my old monitor back up, and alas, the scrambled image remained! It changes colors and brightness everytime there is a visual change when windows starts up: so the video card is sending some sort of information, its just all garbled. I opened the computer and blew the tons of dust and cat hair out the video card's heatsink and re-attached it. still, the scrambled image remains. Could installing a monitor with higher capabilities, and setting the video card to high quality settings cause it to fry? How do i figure out if i just need a new video card, or if i damaged other hardware as well? It looks like video cards have come down in price a lot since i bought mine. I'm not opposed to getting a new one, but my xfx card also comes with a lifetime warranty....please help!

here are some photos:

http://img139.imageshack.us/i/photowlz.jpg/

http://img139.imageshack.us/i/photo2zka.jpg/

[glc]

You fried the video card - and it was probably due to overheating - from the crud in the heatsink combined with the harder work you were making it do.

Open it up again and this time, blow the crud out of EVERYTHING. Air cans do not have enough volume to clean properly, take it outside and use an air compressor or a leaf blower.

[scott123]

everything meaning.....every single component? I'll need some suggestions for a new video card if that's the case. Could this possibly have fried my cpu/motherboard/harddrives etc aswell, or is it specific to only the video card?

[glc]

It's most likely just the video card. If you want a new one, choose it carefully, 430 watts is not a heck of a lot, don't buy one that requires more than that.

You don't have to remove any components to blow it out - just pay particular attention to fans and heatsinks. Use something like a coffee stir stick to prevent fans from spinning when you blast them.