Sounds like you've tried everything... could it be that you just got a bum drive? Maybe try another brand from a local store, just so that it's easy to return if the problem persists even with a new drive.

Nothing else stutters on your system, like mpeg movies or anything?

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P3 866, WBK-32, Win2k, Asus CUSL2-C, 512MB Crucial CAS2, Leadtek GF2 Pro 32MB DDR, 3com 10/100, Promise Ultra100, Lite-On LTD-163 16x DVD, Plextor 24/10/40A, IBM 75GXP 30GB, Maxtor 60GB, ZIP250, Antec SX830, Sony G400