Ok, so I've finally accumulated just enough money to buy a decent gaming computer. However, after putting it together and booting up my OS, installing the Mobo drivers, and all-in-all having a good time I installed my video card drivers off their site (restarted it) and immediately problems occured. I attempted to use firefox as a browser and lines appeared randomly. Jumping around the screen and any movement of the browser or mouse caused them to disappear or generate more. I searched for many hours on google for solutions, re-installed the drivers, checked the hardware to make sure it was properly in place, adjusted settings, and all to no avail. Any Ideas?

Specifications:
VC: Radeon HD 6850
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
RAM: 4gb
CPU: i7 1555
Mobo: MSI p67a-g43
HD: 500gb
PS: 750w Zephyr MX series
Monitor: Asus VW246H

It could be caused by overheating (does your fan run?) or your PSU can't deliver enough current / has instable voltages.
But most likely it's due a defective part. Try testing in another computer if you can and then send in according to warranty regulations.

Yes, lines, glitches or other issues with video cards generally indicate damage. As you've only just bought the part, you should be able to return under warranty without too much fuss.

You might want to try running a 3d graphics program (game, or benchmark like futuremark) and see if you get weird behaviour there as well.

Make sure you're running the DRIVER ONLY package NOT the suite package from ATI/AMD, not the vendor who made your card. That PSU is also very questionable, because its not a reputable brand.

I remember, when I was searching for a laptop of my own, that a certain HP Laptop Model had a persistent graphics problem where vertical/horizontal lines appear and is permanently there...
IIRC, it was due to a faulty connection between the video card and something else, which I can only assume is the .. thing that video cards are usually connected to...

anyway... i also recall that HP didn't refund or exchanged their customer's laptop because it wasn't a Hardware parts problem... (Talk about straining a definition... hardware cxn not equal hardware parts problem.. wow)

Usually a warranty includes parts AND labor. And obviously your case was bad labor. So this should've been a case of warranty either way. This becomes especially obvious if you consider that if you were trying to fix it yourself by opening the laptop you'd void the warranty.
HOWEVER you were not wrong. This case DOES NOT entitle you to a refund or exchange, BUT to repair (for free ofc).

I thought I'd point that out as the way you've written that was misleading.

Here's how you can tell:

Take a screenie of your desktop using the prtscn key. Look at the picture and see if the lines appear. If there are no lines, then it is a hardware problem between the video card and monitor. If there are lines, it is between the video card and motherboard.

Alternatively, you can hook up your compy to a different monitor and see if there is still an issue.

and if it is the video card? lines or no lines?

Could be either. But there's an easy way to find out. Installing fresh drivers-- if this works, then the problem was with the software.

- Use the card on another monitor, if there are still lines, the problem isn't with your monitor. If there are no longer lines, then your problem is the monitor.

- Use the card in another computer setup. If there are still lines, then the problem is a defective video card.

The fan for the CPU, video card and the other two case fans all run fine. And.. unfortunately I cant run it on another computer.


Ironically when I play Starcraft or any other game for that matter, the problem lessens or just goes away.

Im hoping this is the problem because its the easiest to fix, however, Im afraid im not that familiar with whats what with video cards and drivers. Suite package vs driver-only package? My Driver
Lines are still there, so its the video card or motherboard.

Suite package, or driver only package, both work. But the suit has a lot of extras so decide if you need the extras, or just a driver to integrate your card into windows.

Since the problem lessens when you play games it's most likely a part of the card's 2D rendering that's damaged.
Still there is a chance it's your mobo. If you can't test which part it is you have to contact your vendor and ask for further procedure.
If it's your gfx you could at least run on integrated gfx during the warranty process, given the mobo has onboard gfx.

How would I check to see if the mobo is damaged?

Borrow a card from your friend or use an old one. if that one seems to have problems, then your mobo's slot may be broken.