Just my two cents on this issue. I have a Gateway FPD2485W 24" display at home and a similar 24" Samsung display at work. Both are 1920X1200 native resolution. I also have an HP 21" LCD.
When I first got my 15" MacBookPro, I was excited to plug it into my existing setup at home with the FPD2485W display via a DVI adapter. The Mac and the Gateway really complement each other well, being about the same brightness. (The FPD2485W is quite a bit brighter than my old MacBook Pro.)
I noticed right away that there were some artifacts on the screen, and that the amount of dark or black content really increased the effect. I also had the flickering issue. I rebooted into my boot camp Windows 7 and had the same effect. (That rules out drivers.) I also switched between the 9400 and the 9600 - no effect.
I was immediately alarmed and scheduled an appointment with the Genius at our local Apple store. While I was sitting around waiting to go to the Apple store, I plugged in the HP LCD via DVI adapter. The display was perfect. I couldn't get any artifacts or flickering. I tried various things like rebooting, but it was perfect. That display has a gold plated DVI and it got me thinking. My main setup goes through an IO Gear DVI KVM switch. I plugged the display directly into the DVI adapter. It was perfect. I cancelled my Genius appointment.
I have since spent a lot of time on my Samsung at work, and it's perfect.
For my experience, I can easily create all the issues being talked about online with my KVM, bad DVI cables, or with a Display port adapter not fully plugged in. I am glad this worked out, because I love my Mac. I am just trying to figure out how to use the KVM now.
Bottom Line: I don't think most people need to get their MacBooks fixed unless they have tried it on more than one display. And dark content will make it happen pretty fast. If it happens on the displays at the Apple store, then by all means get a new motherboard. Otherwise, you may wait only to find it was your cabling.