(mutter) Hardware Follies: my desktop machine's graphics card is unwell

Very unwell. And apparently getting more so. I’m starting to work my way through all the usual stages to make sure of where the problem is — replacing the monitor driver, installing new display drivers for the card (it’s a Radeon 9800), running diagnostics — but at the moment, here’s what I’ve got.

…Not much to say but frak. And this is the worst possible timing for this, as the household budget is not going to allow me to do anything about this for days and days yet.

…If I have any fans at Radeon who feel inclined to send me some old 9800 that’s lying around (it would be something of a legacy card these days), this would be the moment.

…Gaaaaaaaaah.