Clicking on my user on login window occasionally causes display errors. Graphics chip dying?

Hi. Occasionally (but happening more and more often), when I boot my computer and it goes to the login window, when I click on my username, suddenly the screen corrupts a bit around the username and while I can move my mouse, nothing is clickable anymore. The corrupt pattern always differs, and the only way to fix it for me is to force turn off the computer. When I reboot it, it works normally, and I can type my password to login. However today, I received the problem, and when I rebooted it, the problem happened again. I didn't want to shut it down this time to look for another solution so I just shut the lid, put the computer to sleep, and reopened it to see if the problem was fixed, but to no avail, the glitches (mostly random patches of black and white dispersed with small sprinkled pixels of varying colors) this time filled the entire screen.
I think it may relate to the GPU, and in the case of the GPU, I can recall an event where I was using Final Cut to export something while I was also exporting something in Premiere, and suddenly the computer just stopped moving, and closing the lid didn't stop the harddisk or stop the fans (probably overtaxed with heat). After that, I've been noticing this happening.
My temporary solution with this issue is to change the graphics card I am using.
My MacBook Pro has the "better battery life" and "better performance" option, in which the 9400M is for "better" and the 9600M GT (or whatever) is for "performance", and requires me to log out and sign back in for any changes. For a while now, I have been using the "better performance" option since I started using final cut more often. Since it requires me to log out and sign back in in order to change, I feel that the 9600M GT which I might have possibly damaged could have something to do with it, since it seems that when I click on my username, the internal preference files change the graphics preference to "better performance", and that change may cause the glitches.
Did I toast my 9600? How should I resolve this issue? I feel if I turn this computer on again it will never go back to it's normal mode.
edit: read other topics, in case anyone brings up a heat theory: No I do not see any association with heat. I have had the glitch occur when I turn the computer on in the cold or when I turn it on a couple minutes after I turn it off, in which the board is still warm

You have the MacBook pro 5,1 2008?
Have you installed this firmware update, which brings you up to MBP51.007E.B06 (EFI 2.8)
MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.8
Download
This update is recommended for MacBook Pro (15-inch, late 2008) models. The update resolves a graphics issue that may cause the internal display to flicker.

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Message was edited by: Pondini

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Clicking on my user on login window occasionally causes display errors. Graphics chip dying?

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