Higher speed RAM can usually be tweaked to run with more aggressive timings when installed on a PC with lower bus speeds. There's a better chance that 2.5 CL memory will actually run at that setting.
As I said earlier, there won't be any tweaking on a Pavilion. The best you can hope for is that SPD on memory is accurate and BIOS will use SPD information.
I'd recommend buying 2 inexpensive 512MB DDR400 modules. DDR400 gives you some overhead. On an HP PC, you will not be able to tweak memory timing which is usually required to actually get lower latencies.
Odds are that you won't notice any difference between CL2 and CL3 memory in your PC.
I use A-Data and PQI for inexpensive RAM and have had good results with both. When reliability is critical, I use either Crucial or Corsair.
SATA 300 is what's generally called SATA II or 3.0G although it really doesn't matter. No current SATA drives exceed the original SATA transfer rate of 150MB/sec. WD Raptors are SATA I drives and they are the fastest SATA drives available.
The only thing you need to do is install the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. It's needed for new formats used in Office 2007.
There is no earthly reason for a home user to upgrade to Office 2007 and don't worry about it being out of date any time soon. It will be quite a while before most businesses change to 2007. It's too radical a change.
I'm trying to resolve a problem with Outlook 2007 now. It quit displaying graphics. Link is there and graphics can be copied to clipboard. No solutions on web, but several others with same problem. I have one PC that dual boots Vista/XP so I can learn Vista and Office 2007.
caperjack's correct -- no CPU drivers are needed. Newer CPUs have drivers for advanced features such as Cool 'n Quiet for Athlon 64 CPUs, but they are not essential for operation.
Windows 2000 Pro would be a better choice than Me for older hardware. W2K runs well on a PII or later CPU with 128MB or more RAM.
One of the newer BIOS revisions may support the C2D CPUs but that would be a gamble unless you can find information from someone who has successfully installed a C2D in a Dell E510 or 5150 PC.
According to technical specifications for your Dell motherboard, it does not support Core 2 Duo CPUs although the Intel 945G chipset will support them. Chipset support is irrevalent if BIOS does not support the Core 2 Duo CPUs.
I suggest you get help from a technical savvy friend to familarize you with technical aspects of PCs when tackling upgrades.
I believe that's a BTX form factor motherboard and BTX boards are no longer available from major parts suppliers like NewEgg, Directron, and mWave. An ATX motherboard will not fit your case.
Do you have another PSU to try. Standby power LED lit and PSU fan running when power on lead is jumpered does not verify PSU is actually providing power on all rails. That's especially true if the original Bestec PSU is still installed.
Disconnect all drives, both signal and power cables. Remove PCI cards. Disconnect card reader (if instakked). Disconnect all external devices except monitor and keyboard. Then try a basic boot.
They should be fine as they are provided tape job is adequate to prevent shorting. I've done essentially the same thing to remove excess wires when assembling systems in windowed cases. I use 1/8" heat shrink tubing to cover ends of wires.
667MHz is correct. Memory speed is not additive. Dual channel doubles the memory bus bandwith from 64 bits to 128 bits but speed stays the same. The FSB is 133 MHz with an effective memory bus speed of 667MHz since DDR2 RAM is quad pumped (read 4 times per cycle).
You can image 6GB drive to it or install a clean copy of XP. Either way, you will need to backup any data on drive. If you are not familar with those processes, I recommend you do not try unless you are willing to lose everything on both drives.
That's done during program installation in a dialog box. Some programs won't give you an option, they just install to the boot drive (usually Drive C). The great majority will allow you to choose installation location.
