New hardware, new Windows install..strange issues

[angry hampster]

I put new hardware in my machine (PSU, CPU, mobo, RAM) a couple nights ago and had trouble getting Windows to boot from a fresh install. It'd freeze on the loading screen then restart itself. I eventually got fed up and did another fresh install of Windows, and it seemed to be doing OK. Performance at the desktop level seemed normal.


However, issues are now popping up less than three hours later. First off is Firefox and Chrome both crash *very* frequently, especially with 3-4 or more tabs open. Second is that graphics look strange on the web. It's not always, but probably 50% of the time I get artifacts like this:

And Aero is performing strangely as well. Windows in the background aren't completely drawn, as shown here:

BTW, new hardware is:
Phenom II X2 (unlocked to x4 and stress test passed with OCCT)
Gigabyte 785G USB3 board
G.Skill DDR3 1600 2x2GB
Rocketfish 500w Modular PSU

OS is Windows 7 Premium for System Builders

 

[RebateMonger]

Failing video system?
Bad video drivers?
Overclocked video card?
Overheating video card?

 

[angry hampster]

Very strange...I turned off the other two cores and all is well again. Very surprised that it would pass the OCCT stress test with no errors but cause me that much grief. I suppose the cores were locked for good reason to begin with..maybe I'll experiment with unlocking the cores one at a time and perhaps wind up with a triple.


As for the video card, it's an underclocked 4870 and up-to-date drivers.