@KTE,
sorry i didn't link everything, i was tired and had a long day, figured the info was enough for the time being.

OS is VISTA sp1 x64

RAM : NEWEGG LINK
can't locate box currently...
the original timings were something like 7-7-7-24
was thinking it was voltage now i'm thinking about it, on account it asks for 2.0-2.1 and the board still seems to only get me vdimm of 1.8

RAID CARD : buget, not looking to spend over say $140ish for a decent host based, bit more (not much) if a lower end hardware one shows up. will take used... lol (if possable, sata, only need 2 ports, and pci-e/pci (whatever will work best)

ohh about the pay, pay is decent, if i was with my family, but due to ingerys i am having a forced seperation, with her and my kid 800 miles away, so it gets tight at times running 2 households, and the GI bill (college) is only like 37K, maybe a bit more at times.