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The old single core XP AMD's ran a little hot - nowhere near as bad as the Intel P4's - the X2's however got warm aswell.
I wouldn't push voltage much past 1.5v and temps more than 65-70C are a concern.
Again - this is some pretty old tech that you're using mate. AMD lost the performance battle when Intel released the Core architecture - the Core 2 stuff has just blown AMD completely off the map.
IF you were looking to upgrade (which depending on your purpose and budget - now could be a good time to do so) you'd be insane to go anything but intel. There are new Intel chips due in November, a new socket, DDR3 ram - basically means you'll need a whole new PC (new Motherboard, new RAM etc) if you want a new CPU - so the OLD stuff will be REAL cheap (it's already really cheap as it is!).
The catch is that the NEW chips apparently only excel at server type functions - so if you're a gamer or use your PC for media based functions, you're best of getting the high end of the CURRENT CPU's when the new ones come out - as these high end chips will get REAL cheap - even though they're great for your purpose.
You would also be NUTS not to overclock - these chips are just MADE for it. Rule of thumb - if you game - go a dual core CPU - if you do multi-tasking/media then go quad. Also - when you overclock anything over 3.4 ghz you simply won't notice too much.
And as always - if you're going to overclock - make sure you get AFTERMARKET COOLING - I'd suggest the Thermalright TRUE or Tuniq Tower heat sinks with a really nice 120mm med/high cfm fan. A nice case with several 120mm's is also recomended (Antec 900 is a beauty).
Best bang for buck chips right now:
Gamer - E8400 - $139 at Fry's and EASILY clocks to 4.0
Video - Q6600 - $149 at Fry's and clocks like a champ.
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