Dimension 8300 And New Video Problems

Hi. I have a Dimension 8300 3.0 ghz, with an ATI Radeon 9800 128 mb = Video Card. =20

All of a sudden the other day I started experiencing what seem to be = video problems. They came on suddenlyl, and I had not done any major = changes .... software or hardware-wise.... to the computer at all.

When I boot, that black Windows XP screen shows all kinds of colored = pixels and larger squares. When I get to the desktop, it looks fine in = that regard, excpet for icons that either disappear or look all pink and = faded. The little folder icons and the PLUS and MINUS signs in the = Headers section of NG's in Outlook Express look pink and "funny" as = well. Sometimes the mouse cursor has little black lines that move along = with it. I know this sounds very weird, and it's kind of hard to = describe.

I went to the Dell site to look for upgrades of the video drivers, as = that's what everyone tells me to do, but the only one I could find for = this machine, gave me a NOT FOUND error message when I tried to = download. I think it said it was for dual monitors anyway, which I = don't have.

My questions are these:

1. Do you think a video driver update would help and can I get one = from the ATI site? I have read here in the past that Dell machines = won't let you do that, and you have to use Dell acquired drivers.

2. Is it possible to replace a video card with another one, bought from = any 3rd party on a Dell? I've also read here in the past that you can't = do that either.

3. And do you think I am looking in the right direction with the 2 = above? Could this be from something else?

Thanks so much in advance! I appreciate any help!

Cee