GPU Upgrade Compatability

[Capp00]

My current system is a Dell XPS8300 with i7-2600 3.4GHz. 4GB DDR3.

I have been shopping around for a GT-680 to upgrade over the Radeon that came with the system.
Cards like this: http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=73119&vpn=02G-P4-2687-KR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1079

I've spoken to some, who know more than I, to make sure I'd be fully capable of maxing out this bad boy.

A few have said, I should be able to push it to the limits with no problems. Others have said since it's not a 'K' series, thus allowing overclocking, that I'd be wasting my money on a card like that.

So my basic questions:
1) With my current CPU, would I be able to use the card I linked, or comparable without bogging down my system.
and
2) with that current CPU, what's my limit on upgrading?
3) I was reading about CPU upgrades and from what I could find, the 2600K is the best upgrade I could hope for with this chipset. Is that correct?

Thank you all very much

 

[clutchc]

My god! The i7-2600 is at the top of the food chain in gaming processors.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
Whoever told you that you had to O/C it to keep it from bottle necking the GTX 680 was uninformed. You may want to upgrade in the future to a bit more system RAM, however; say, 8GB. Although most modern games still do well with 4GB as long as you don't try to multi task anything else at the same time.

3) Depending on the MB and the BIOS, you may well be able to upgrade from your Sandy Bridge to an Ivy Bridge processor. But I don't know why. The gain at gaming would be minimal.

 

[notea]

Answers:
1) Yes, you will be able to use the card without any bottlenecks and wont bog down your system
2) You can upgrade to any Sandy Bridge CPUs
3) The best upgrade would be a Core i7 2700K

I'd like to point out a few other things to consider upgrading:

1) The ram is only 1333mhz DDR3, you should be able to get at least 1600mhz depending on the motherboard, and 8GB upgrade should be considered.

2)The PSU is only 460W, i dont know what make it is, i would consider upgrading it to atleast a 600W 80+ Certified PSU as the listed power supply requirement of a 680 is 550W (Full system power draw)

 

[Capp00]

Thank you, Thank you. Both of you.

I have already purchased a 700w PSU upgrade I will install. was waiting until I got the other upgrades going before so I can do it in 1 felt swoop.

I am going to upgrade the memory to at least 8GB as well. And have already selected some that match the recommended.

My biggest question was whether I could handle the card mentioned.