(a video card) can cause a computer to become completely unstable
As you say, it is hard for most of us to realize, but the man/company that built my machine went to work to try to locate the problem. He was to run a video diagnostic CD for 24 hours. Yes. 24 yours. It locked up in 14 hours. I asked about the diagnostic disk. It contained a series of very difficult, video intensive game type video switching.
For some reason, that 9500 card broke down. He wanted to try *another* 9500 to see if it was the model of the card or whether it was just that one card.
I already lost the machine for 14 hours testing the 9500, and another 12 hours running the 8500 without incident, and felt I wanted to take the machine home. I could always report back if something went wrong with the 8500 card.
So we never got the answer to that last question.
Fred