Today for Christmas I got a Radeon X1300 256MB PCI video card, and 1 GB stick of Kingston PC 2700 ram. Do I really need to reformat before putting my parts in? My friends said I don't really need to, reformatting just sort of makes it better. I lost my windows XP disc, and I don't wannt go out and buy a new one if I really don't need to. Will my parts be damaged if I put them in without reformatting, and will I see a difference in my gaming and stuff?

I'm going from On-Board Video to the X1300 and..
PC 2700 512 MB ram, adding 1GB stick will make it 1.5 GB PC 2700 RAM.

Will my computer recognize my parts right away without reformatting and will they enhance my PC and gaming experience like they should? Thanks for whatever answeres you give.

Hi Taclooc,

Welcome to PCHF.

No you don't need to reformat for this, it's only a minor change, and won't affect the performance of your PC if you don't.

The only time you need to reformat, is for a major hardware change - new motherboard only.

Hey thanks MadMonkey. So my games will be running smooth like they should, and my computer will recognize the added 1GB of ram? Can't wait to play CS:S with gooooood FPS.

Yep, your PC will automatically start using the 1gb RAM. Some systems you will need to enter setup [F2] or [DEL] and then just save your settings from there. No problems.

When you first start Windows, will show "Found New Hardware". Cancel that, and use your installation CD that comes with your graphics card. Easy stuff. You shouldn't have any problems. If you have any problems, come back here and tell us your problems and we will talk you through anything you need.

Alright thanks a lot man.

Any time, will mark this one as answered.