9800GTX+ Video Issues

[Kobukson]

So, as I've been running games and videos on my computer, I've noticed screen tearing and video artifacts. Originally, I thought the screen tearing was limited to WoW, but I've noticed it happening in Mplayer OS X Extended as well as other games like Team Fortress 2.

 

Any suggestions on what might be causing the issue and how I could chase this? Asking a friend he told me that I either need to upgrade the video card, add a cooler, or get a new monitor (very helpful friend, as you can tell >_>)

 

Here are my specs:

 

OS: Mac OS X 10.6.4

CPU: 2.83 GHz Intel Quad Q6550

RAM: 8 GB

Video Card: NVidia 9800GTX+ 512MB (though it appears in System Profiler as a 9800GTK+ for whatever reason)

Monitors: HP 2009M monitor & cheap Dell monitor

 

Originally installed using the method detailed at lifehacker.com for their easy Snow Leopard Hackintosh