Here is a photo of what my screen looks like

a1.cpimg.com

Its hard to describe really but I'm hoping it is something obvious.

I does this somewhat after twenty or so minutes of use and more when actually using the card (ie Sketchup 3d software etc) This is the computer of the bar I manage so I need to fix it ASAP and be able to use Sketchup as it doesn't run natively on my intel mac yet.

Thanks Marlow

I don't see a pic.

Based on what you've said, it's likely your GPU is overheating. Make sure the heat sink isn't clogged with dust.

www.flickr.com

Sorry try this one. What I don't understand is that It seems to work fine after a restart and wouldn't the heat issue persist. I'll bring my spray can in from home though and give it a try and that maintainence can never hurt.

Thanks,

Marlow

How can I post photo's on this site.

Sorry

If it works right away after restart, overheating is probably not the problem. Try either testing the video card in another computer, or testing another video card in your computer, and see what happens.

I tried that but my video card from my now old (several years) pc isn't compatable. It seems that mine had one slot two thirds of the way down the card (where is sits on the board) while the problem card has two slots and my old card won't fit in. I'm trying to get hold of another card to try. Are there any diagnostic tests that can be run on video cards?

Thanks,

Marlow

Assuming you're using AGP video cards, the slots distinguish between AGP 2X/4X/8X. Any of those should be backwards compatible, so try putting your video card in your old pc.