Does anyone know whether it's better to  upgrade from an E8400 to an E8500 (for $100) or instead to upgrade my Vid card (Radeon 2400 XT) to something $100 better - the system will be used for internet mainly, probably never gaiming i.e.... how much does a Vid card improve the performance of the computer (outside of gaming)?

Unless you're gaming, decoding high definition video, or doing CAD work, the graphics card will do nothing but raise your power bill. Also, the upgrade from the E8400 to E8500 is pretty much not worth it unless you're going for a very high overclock and want the extra 0.5x multiplier (9.5x on the E8500 vs 9.0x on the E8400).

video card of course your e8400 is more than enough

I'd find something else to spend the money on. Just no bang for the buck in the choices.

ok, point taken, I'll scap the upgrade to the 2600 and am going to downgrade to an E8300 and then prpbably put that money on an extra monitor.