I am having a overheating problem with my Inspiron 8500.
It seems to be video related.

The screen works fine for a while then the graphics go to gibberish and the computer lock up eventually.( it does the same on a external monitor.)

Around this time I was getting a dst short error on the hard drive( it had many corrupted areas) so I replaced it and re-installed all the software and drivers and I still have the video problem.

I installed a program that monitors the temp and turns on fans if it gets too hot(so the fans work). It seems to help a little but the CPU still gets to 69c with only the operating system running and the video card gets even hotter.

I have cleaned the whole computer with compressed air and it still overheats.

I willhave no problem replacing the video card if that's what it is. I would just getting tired of throwing money at this computer and not fix the problem.

Is it possible for the mainboard to cause this problem?

Its not the LCD as the same graphic problem is on the external monitor as well.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Dan