Is this a graphics card issue?

[tbluhm7]

So I just finished a clean install of Windows 7 after reformatting my old hard drive. I did this because the same drive with the same version of windows had suddenly been giving me a problem where there would be no video out whatsoever. not even bios screen. at first I suspected this to be due to some files i had messed with just prior to the problem.
Now, there is nothing on there but the clean install, and seemingly randomly after it had successfully updated and restarted several times, it now is having the problem AGAIN after the most recent reboot. no video out at all across every port on every monitor. I checked the monitors and cables thoroughly both times this happened.
this is starting to get real irritating. would a video card cause an issue like this? die suddenly, work again on clean install, and then die again? is there a cheap way I can test this?
is it more likely something else? I use an external hard drive to save all of my important data and program installs that aren't necessary to the computer's operation. I had only recently re-introduced this external drive to the pc when only one or two reboots later the problem happened. it doesn't fix it when i unplug it. I don't know how anything on the external drive could be causing it.

I'm out of ideas. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Slashgeek]

If you performed a clean install complete with a drive reformatting, you have very likely ruled out most other software and driver-related issues. Try updating your graphics drivers to the latest version, as the ones that come with Windows are not up to date. If this fails to resolve your issue, try reseating your RAM or checking your power supply. Other than this, however, your graphics card may be failing.