Lag with 6850? / Might upgrade??

[gorapadeok]

I've had this card for almost a year now. Since day one I've been really fishy about it.

I would get that driver stopped working message, BSODs (which I fixed after a tiring amount..) and this one pixel related issue??.
Ex : On skyrim all the pixels were rainbow ish colors and it was really weird.
Those problems have disappeared but now I'm wondering if my card is ok. I tend to lag a lot on most games.

Games I usually play ;
Fallout NV
Fallout 3
TF2
Black Mesa (Don't get me started this and NV are the worst, can't even move.)
Skyrim

PC Specs :
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 @3.20GHz
Asus P7P55 LX Motherboard
8gb ram
Radeon 6850
530W power supply



Settings usually aren't on high, but medium.
Any clue why I might be getting low fps and stutter lag? Should I worry if my cards been dead or should I upgrade in a few months? Or am I expecting too much from this card?
Also, if you need anymore information, please tell me ! I'd like to know my problem. :/

 

[gorapadeok]

Sigh, after this year I can't figure the problem out. I don't want to go straight to the option of 'upgrade'! But I guess if I have to..?

I've been reading about waiting for the 8xxx (or something) to come out in the next few months. Not sure when that is or what those prices usually are.
Also curious of something; are new cards that are released usually buggy or no?

Ah, if anyone suggests me to RMA it, unfortunately I can not do that. Being the clutz I am, I bought it without making sure I had a warranty on it. (Always make to sure you have warranty..)

Truthfully this build (first one) has been a mess. I was using help from someone to make it. Te motherboard and RAM were acting funny. Went through endless amount of getting a new motherboard, ram, another graphics card and all this other crap. So yes, I'd like to be positive on responses before wasting money. Naive me.

More info;
I've updated my BIOS a few weeks ago, updated AMD drivers the other day. I tend to use the betas.