9800 GTX + Flickering

[SergeantSausage]

Not sure if you checked this when you bought the vid card, but check the recommended amperage (amps) for your card, and verify that your power supply is generating enough amps to power the card + all your peripherals (hard drives, disc drives, usb devices, etc.)

MANY power supplies have the amperage split into several directions, leaving you with anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 (or less) of the amperage you might need to run a powerful card. I had major problems with my rig when I first upgraded to a good PCI-E card. The recommended amperage for my card was in the 40's or 50's, and the power supply i had was generating TWELVE.

I ended up buying a corsair power supply, which had roughly the same wattage (550) but generated over 50 amps. I had replaced many parts, including my RAM and hard drive, before i figured this out. Haven't had a single problem since.