Is my Graphics card dying on me?

[danakm]

My mid-2009 MBP has a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB and after all the horror stories I've heard, I just don't trust NVIDIA anymore, so I have to ask...

I've started seeing this happen:

EDIT: Link in case that doesn't show (it shows for me *shrug*)

Not all the time, but definitely with some frequency, so: Do I need to start freaking out about my graphics card dying on me?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You image does not show:

How to attach an image to your MR post.​

 

[danakm]

You image does not show:

How to attach an image to your MR post.​

It was a permission thing on my server. Thanks. Fixed

 

[simsaladimbamba]

It was a permission thing on my server. Thanks. Fixed

Still no fixed. Just use the attachment button or another upload service, if your server does not work.

 

[danakm]

Still no fixed. Just use the attachment button or another upload service, if your server does not work.

Image

Cache, maybe? It works for me Added a link, anyway

 

[bushido]

Cache, maybe? It works for me Added a link, anyway

i can see the pic ...

this looks scary ... i have a mid 2009 too

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Cache, maybe? It works for me Added a link, anyway

Still page not found.
Just use the ATTACHMENT button (

), as shown in the guide I linked to.

For images wider than 800 pixel, please use the TIMG tags instead of the IMG tags by just adding a T in front of the [IMG] and closing [/IMG] tag, like [img] and [/img] to prevent horizontal scrolling.
You can use the

to edit your images and add the Ts.

----------

i can see the pic ...

this looks scary ... i have a mid 2009 too

Strange. I try another browser then.

Okay, could see it in Firefox 11.

As the screenshot catches the artifacts, it is not the hardware, but a software problem (drivers, corrupted kext, ...).
Does it stay even after restarting the Mac?

 

[danakm]

As the screenshot catches the artifacts, it is not the hardware, but a software problem (drivers, corrupted kext, ...).
Does it stay even after restarting the Mac?

It stayed after a restart only once (when I took that screenshot) that I noticed, so far.

Two other times it happened when Lion (I hadn't upgraded then) tried to restore a Chrome window. Not exactly the same but in the same general area

And just now it happened when the computer went to screen saver...

 

[iBookG4user]

If the original photo was a screenshot, then it shouldn't be a hardware problem. Try creating a new user account and use that for a bit to see if the glitch shows up.

 

[Peace]

I agree that it's not a hardware problem. that first screenshot appears to affect only images and not random areas.

 

[danakm]

If the original photo was a screenshot, then it shouldn't be a hardware problem. Try creating a new user account and use that for a bit to see if the glitch shows up.

I agree that it's not a hardware problem. that first screenshot appears to affect only images and not random areas.

Well, I certainly hope you guys are right because I plan on juicing this computer for at least another year, so yeah. Graphics card issues are scarily expensive when out of warranty

I'll try the new user