Well,
New lessons learned, I guess!
I found a brand new Intel DG965MQ motherboard for chump change and decided to cure my
"UNUSABLY SLOW & ALWAYS FREEZING XP" in my Gateway GT5238E Media Center PC through the brute force method of a motherboard swap. I also decided I'd go for a bit more juice and got an E6700 duo core to replace the E6300, and since I suspected excess heat/improper cooling as a cause of my problems, I ordered and replaced both cooling fans.
So with all new guts, booted up my "NEW" GT5238E, and voila`, SUPER unusably SLOW FREEZING XP, right back in my face. I thought it has to be bad memory modules or bad hard drive.
I swapped out the 4GB of memory for the the original 1GB PC came with, and still SUPER SLOW.
I ran to the local big-box store and returned with a new WD 500GB SATA to replace the WD 250 SATA, that was stock, and bingo, I have a speedy new PC again.
I tested the hell out of my old hard drive, and all the tests indicated it was fine.
In fact it was junk, apparently.
And additionally,I downloaded Speedfan, and saw an MCH temp of 85C, which I mistakenly believed was a factor in causing my XP FREEZES, along with elevated ICH temp readings as well.
The ICH/MCH temperatures, while appearing to be above normal, were not the the cause of the freeze-ups
in XP MCE.
The old and tired hard drive, despite appearing to pass manufacturer's tests, was in fact causing the
SUPER SLOW and regularly FREEZING XP.
Thanks to everyone who contributed. I appreciate your efforts.
Mike King
I should have suspected and changed the hard drive out