Screen split and distorted on macbook pro

Hello! I've tried searching this but unfortunately there was a lot of vocabulary I couldn't understand.
I have an early-2011 Macbook pro 15 inch (running os x 10.9.3), and have gone 3 years without any real problems that couldn't be fixed over the phone.
Anyway, today I was online and suddenly the screen became distorted and split in half, with the right side of the webpage displaying on the left and the left on the right. (I have attached an image, blurred some things out for privacy but you should get the gist of it.)
The only way I was able to stop this was to reboot my computer. The first time I was able to work with it a little and restart it using the drop-down menu, but the next time it was unresponsive and I had to shut it down manually.
I've read some posts about people doing this multiple times and eventually after rebooting the system is unresponsive or simply does nothing. I have also heard that bringing the computer into the Apple store results in a ~$500 charge for a replacement of some sort (again, I'm sorry. Not too familiar with the technical lingo).
My question is, should I bring my computer in to the Apple store as soon as I can or is there something I can do now to fix the issue? And what is causing this?
Thanks in advance to anyone who answers.

Hey there carebear,
It looks like you are seeing some graphical oddities that are resolved temporarily when you restart the computer. I would use these troubleshooting steps specifically to help you resolve that, from this article:
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1573
Reset the system
You can reset the Mac's parameter RAM and SMC.
Reset the resolution
Start by resetting the Mac's parameter RAM. If the display does not come up, was previously set to an unsupported resolution, and still results in no video:
Start up in Safe Mode.
From the Apple () menu, choose System Preferences.
Choose Displays from the View menu to open the preferences pane.
Select any resolution and refresh rate that your display supports.
Restart your computer.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Regards,
Sterling

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