Thanks again Derelict for your valuable insights

I did see the Startech cards when I was searching for a good fit, and I am now ruing that I didn't order one. It looks like I have done my dough $$$ on the card I now have...

Your are absolutely correct - I didn't think it would be so hard to get things working.

This was supposed to be my cheap and economical to run setup.

I have a second machine with a Core i5 2500 (95W) that just chews the gas, but the MB has all the goodies integrated...

Looks like it's back to the drawing board lol