Another tech issue

I've been having a glaring issue with my display lately. Usually when I play certain games a weird circle will periodically appear in the center of the screen and sometimes distorts the area around it. This problem began after I upgraded to Windows 7. I upgraded the video card card and tried a different monitor but neither solution worked. Has anyone else here experienced something like this?

Has anyone else here experienced something like this?

No. Not me.

I have a few qualified(?!) guesses though:

1. It´s the dreaded "artifact". Google it.

2. Your screen or GPU is about to die.

3. You need to go and see an eyedoctor.

4. You´re having a "close encounter of the third kind".

5. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane, 1967.

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small

When men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving slow
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"
Remember what the dormouse said;
"Keep YOUR HEAD"

6. Nah, it´s one of the above!

1. seems to be the most likely cause since both my monitor and GPU are new. For 3-6 I call bullshit.

2 and 1 are often the same thing.

7) Whatever drugs you're on

8) You need sleep


Also, I had my second IBM ThinkPad break from faulty GPU. Seriously, I'm sure it wasn't a virus or anything, when I tried to play a fullscreen game it would have these weird lines - even at startup, and sometimes it would take five minutes just to boot (turning it on/off until the right screen came up). Glad I'm over with those worries.

Why does this sound like a fish eye effect to me?

Perhaps you have your games on with an increased Field of View[FOV]?
Maybe it is some setting in your graphics driver that is causing it?

You don't have any "magnifying glass" utilities activated now, do you? The shape, position and effect sure sound similar, by the way you described them. I hope you didn't deliberately forget to add an "Oh BTW, I'm using on-screen reading aids".

In Windows 7, the combination

Windows key and =

apparently starts the Magnifier accessibility tool. Or, it may already be running; check your list of startup programs.

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7desktop/thread/409861dd-c0c5-4d64-aaec-fb42f23647b7:

Give this a try:

Click on the Start button
All Programs
Accessories
Ease of Access Center

Then click on 'Make the computer easier to use' near the bottom.

Then unchecked 'Turn On Magnifier'. Hit OK and you're done.

Tried your suggestion Bloodshedder, but that damn circle still appears. May I also add that the link you posted is broken.

Take the colon off the end of the URL and it works.

Does said circle show up in screenshots?

I'm starting to think it has something to so with my keyboard because it tends to happen whenever I press a key.