Sound Acceleration should be at 3/4 in DxDiag.
Use the 61.77 version drivers for FX5XXX series cards.
Run Spybot S&D and AdAware.
Eliminate any unneeded processes and services.
Check TM processes here. Go to Run.. and type in "services" go through the list and disable things you never could use. Automatic Updates is a massive pain on gaming connections. Disable it here and in any other place you may find it lurking.
Open the Task Manager and make sure that, with all windiows closed, your "Network Utilization" is at a constant 0%. If this isn't true, SOMETHING is connecting to the internet that shouldn't be, and could be causing packet loss and damage.
Do not run P2P programs. Skuzzy's tests have shown that even without the program running, the system can take days to restabilize.
Fix the link in your signature, it angers the compy gods.