Considering Upgrade, Have Questions

[Javelin]

Hi there, I've read this forum and others in the past to help me get into building my own system, so some time later I'm asking for some help.

I've built my computer roughly 1.5 years ago and I'm starting to seek a computer upgrade, though I've been rather out of the loop with all the tech info and whatnot. I really don't have much cash to spend atm (only about $250).

Mainly I wanted to upgrade my video card from an nVidia 7600GT to an ATI HD4850, but wanted to know if I had to upgrade anything else so the new video card wouldn't be bottlenecked. Anyways, here's my build. Not linking the case and other hardware that doesn't affect performance.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
PSU:OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB/CE/CSA/UL/FCC - Retail
Video Card: EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
CPU Heatsink: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail

This is the HD4850 I'm looking to buy:
Newegg.com - POWERCOLOR AX4850 512MD3-H Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Basically, would my system do just fine with only the video card upgrade, or is it worth investing more money to upgrade more components? And, if going from nVidia to ATI, I read that to get the full benefit of the card I'd have to reformat my system, though plenty of people don't seem to do that, but does it really matter? I mean, it probably would work just fine if I uninstall the drivers and all prior to putting in the new video card.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

 

[Grinchy]

If I was you, I'd go with a e8400 processor and then a xigmatek rifle cpu cooler.

Then later on down the road, or whenever soon as possible, hit the 4850 up.

I have no experience with bottlenecking, but the e8400 will greatly increase your performance.

 

[veg1992]

Buy an e7200, overclock it some (reuse the AF7) and then overclock it to around 3.8ghz +

And then buy an HD 4850 to prevent a bottleneck

No you don't need to format, use a Driver Cleaner Pro (don't be confused with the Spyware Drive Cleaner Pro) Uninstall your current drivers, run the Driver Cleaner Pro, turn off your PC and throw in your new Video Card (also you might need a BIOS Update to use an e7200)

 

[Javelin]

I haven't been on much due to some personal things I had to take care of. However, thanks very much for the replies. I guess it's worth more to save some more money.

One other thing I'd like to point out is that I've never overclocked before, so for a beginner would I be better spending some more on the E8400 or would I be fine saving some cash with an E7200? On that matter, are there any good references around for overclocking either Intel processor, since I really don't have the faintest idea what to do, but I really would like to learn since it's always nice to save money where applicable.

 

[veg1992]

They both are easy to OC, but e7200 is a lot cheaper

As for oc'ing it, we'll guide you through that

 

[veg1992]

They both are easy to OC, but e7200 is a lot cheaper

As for oc'ing it, we'll guide you through that