> The number of CPU benchmarks I have seen lately are persuading me to
> try an Athlon. Whether the tests are real world or under laboratory
> conditions is no longer an issue for me. At one time you also had to
> trade performance against cost. For POV-Ray, it would seem that the
> Athlon fits both requirements now. I'm not too sure about its
> reliability but suspect that is due to false economy with the CPU fan.

I've been runnning my Athlon 1.33Ghz since about April(ish) last year and 
I've had no stability problems.  Peak CPU temp according to the M/B 
sensor was 54C or so, but that may go up a bit due to the new video board 
that went in over Christmas.

I'd definitely make sure you get a good HSF and a good quality PSU 
though.  I had a crappy cheap PSU that came with the case initially, but 
I swapped it out for an Enermax 350Watt unit when I spotted certain 
voltages runing more than 10% out from waht they should have been.

I'll stop rambling now, but suffice it to say that I for one am more than 
happy with my Athlon.

Bye for now,
     Jamie.

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