Shakey Video in Games

I have an issue when I play games, the video becomes very shakey, like someone is shaking the monitor really bad, or like a MSN nudge does.

It does not happen all the time, just occasionally and it is getting worse. When it starts it just keeps going for a while, then all of a sudden it stops and will start up again.

I play online mainly and this occurs online 98% of the time, when I play in "Campaign" mode and not online I rarely ever see the shakey video. However it also does show up sometimes in "campaign" mode.

I have been playing the same game for over a year now and never experienced this issue untill in the last few months and it is progressively getting worse.

Also, my monitor has been doing something weird as well, the DVI indicator that shows up on the screen used to show then dissappear quickly, now it stays on for about 2-5 minutes before going away. The video shaking started around the same time -any possibility they are related?

Any ideas what causes this shakey video?

Here are my PC Specs

Most of these components are somewhat new.

Monitor: Gateway 21" HD Widescreen Flat Panel
(Purchased Jan 06)

PC:
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
(purchased May 06)
Patriot PC32000 4 x 1GB RAM
(Purchased 2GB May 06)
AMD 64 4200+ Dual Core 2.4Ghz Proc
(Purchased May 06)
Zalman 120mm CPU Copper heat sink & fan
(purchased June 06)
BFG 7800 GT OC 256MB Video Card (Dual DVI)
(Purchased Oct 05)
Soundblaster Audigy ZS sound card
(Purchased Jan 05)
WD 74GB Raptor SATA HD
(Purchased Apr 05)
WD 250GB IDE HD
(Purchased Jan 06)
Antec Case w/4 120 mm fans
(Purchased July 06)
Logitech G7 Cordless Gaming Mouse
(Purchased Mar 06)
Standard Gateway Keyboard (had it)

NOTE: Running the Asus MB it comes with their AI Overclocking interface. I have tried using the various overclocking options it has and nothing seems to calm the video down, with or without overclocking.

I talked to Gateway about this issue, they believe the monitor is the issue and that they need to send a replacement. Unfortunatley it seems this model is on a serious back order time, so I will not know if this is really the isssue until the new one shows up in 6 to 8 weeks.

I recently (within the last week) wiped my hard drive clean, re-installed Windows XP Pro, installed all new drivers for everything, even updated the Mobo BIOS, os all drivers are working properly.

The video card is not that old, though it has been worked pretty hard (several hours of gaming per session (Halo PC rules!), CAD design, Graphics design, Video creation and editing, etc) and used to run in a case that got very hot till I migrated over to the Antec case that dropped case temps by about 12-15 Degrees C. I hope the issue is just a bad monitor and not faulty hardware due to heat issues. A new video card is not exactly something I want to go out and buy right now.

After some research I found this monitor has many common issues, so problem may be solved...............tbd

okay, so I broke down and bought a new video card
BFG 7900 GT OC 256MB PCI-e
And the replacement monitor arrived from Gateway.

Still got the jerky video after updating drivers again. Video meaning games or media player stuff.

Any ideas?


btw, just a side note - BFG RULES! My other card was returned to BFG for replacement, no questions asked, they have a lifetime warranty and free 24/7 tech support - can't beat that at all. Had I known I would have used their advanced replacement feature where they woul dhave snet me a good card b4 I had to send back my old one.