Tír Na HiFi

i got it secondhand and tried to discuss upgrades with him, but he stopped communicating mid discussion. Might have been about the time he wrapped things up.
I got 2 old HP PCs from the IT guys, but they had some proprietary, non standard wiring. They replaced them with one that has the 24 pin connector ,but the PC won't start.Feels like the gods are against me! I have ordered an ATX tester, see if that tells me anything. If the first 2 decommissioned machines had been suitable, it would have been a lot easier to swap stuff around.

I might ask around and see if anyone has an old desktop for scrapping.Will post some pics later

Success!

I removed the MB wiped it's underside and it started working with the old PSU. I tried various combinations with the new PSU, and narrowed the problem to the EPS 12V processor supply.

Sean Jacobs who supplied all the main parts, sent me a booster module and I split the 12v rail so the ATX and EPS had their own regulator boards. sorted!
The result was instantly a step forward, but has taken a some hours to properly burn in. now very impressive, much better frequency extremes, clearer more open and dynamic. Very aware now, that my power amp is the weaknesses in my system and limiting the full benefits of the upgrade. in the meantime very happy.

Thanks for your support with this everyone, I did get a bit downhearted at one point! Now wondering whether a different MB and/or processor would make a worthwhile difference. Planning to try OS in Ramdisk, but not for a while.

That's good news! Good to hear you sorted it out.

Thanks Fran.