SPCR

I almost suggested this before: just get Newegg to refund you, then order directly from Crucial. After informing them of your plight, perhaps they would offer reduced, or even gratis express shipping. Even if you'll pay, it's $5.99/3 days--$8.99/2 days and might be quicker delivery at this point

Good luck!
Russell

Finally some good news: Newegg is shipping my replacement next-day.

Apparently "Next Day Air" means taking two and a half days to package an item, shipping it on Friday, and then letting it sit in Philly over the weekend. I just can't get a break. It wouldn't be quite so bad if it wasn't summer and my soon-to-be-upgraded computer wasn't acting as a space heater.

The RAM came in today. As it turns out, yeah, the original RAM they sent wasn't even low profile. I'm glad that ordeal is over.

The upgrade was largely painless. The only problem I encountered was a single mobo screw that I couldn't get in, and can't get out. Seven secure screws should be just fine. Oh, and I didn't install an intake fan yet. Regular screws don't fit for some reason. But I'm not sure I need it because...

I can't hear my machine at all! The crickets outside are louder. Hell, I can hear myself breathing more than I can hear this thing.

I'm going to do a fresh Windows 7 install now. Then I'll test my new system with a few audio projects.

Cool beans.

In general, I like Newegg. I've had some wonky fullfillment/delivery times as well. One time, they shipped an item from LA area to me. If they had tossed it in the mail, I would have gotten it the next day - worst case 2 days. Instead, they had DHL pick it up from their warehouse...drive it around LA for 2 days, and then deposit it at a USPS facility. I got it a day later.

Yeah, except for this incident, Newegg has been great.

So I've been maxing out the CPU and memory as much as I can for over an hour now. I can barely hear the fans. Sys Fan: 1480RPM. CPU Fan: 1319RPM. System: 29C. CPU: 50C. Cores: ~70C. GPU: 35C.

And the BIOS is set to standard, not silent.

Not only is the latency of my audio projects greatly improved, it's even improved while running the second most powerful chess engine (Stockfish) in the background. Everything is noticeably faster. And, even at its loudest, my machine is quieter than its environment at its quietest. The noise floor is visibly lower when recording. Much lower.

Many thanks to everyone here who helped with this build! I'm very satisfied with it.

Glad it all worked out - enjoy your new PC!