Reasons to not buy a CPU

[mikeymike]

Do you know what core AthlonXP you're running?  There have been two available for the 1800+: Palomino and Thoroughbred-A.

They can be identified easily by the shape of the die.  Palomino is square, Thoroughbred is rectangular.

Palomino cores output tonnes more heat.  First hand experience.

[mikeymike]

Yep, Athlons have been warm. The thing people forget is, they're rated to *take* the heat they produce. As long as it's kept within the range specified in the datasheets, you can expect it to tick away as long as anything else, or until your Taiwanese capacitors explode.

The processor might be able to take it, but what about every other component in the system?

1 - electrical conductivity improves if components are cold.  Equals faster.

2 - if you switch the computer off at night, all the components cool down, and with today's machines that can mean a reduction in temp by about 20 degrees C.  Heating up and cooling down something repetitively is a great way to damage it, killing it far more dramatically than if it was on all the time.

3 - Hard disks die much quicker if they're running hotter.  They may be rated to work at {insert high temperature here}, but the specs don't show you how that effects the MTBF (mean time before failure).  Personally I care far more about the data than most of the other components in my system.

[mikeymike]

1 - electrical conductivity improves if components are cold. Equals faster.

BIG pet peeve. "Faster," yes; but the 'fastness' is the switching speed the transistors can reach without frying. (More technically, transistors require a certain amount of current, interconnects have to handle a certain amount of current, get things too warm and resistance goes up, interconnects toast, and you're out a chip.) In other words, the clock rate.

How can they fry if they're cold? I'm not saying that because they're cold that the clock speed can be raised, while that does stand to a certain extent, I'm saying that components that are running very cold make better conductors of electricity.

whatever the heck it was that made the IBM Deathstars so flaky

I think that must have been well and truly IBM's fault, as they haven't fired off a silo of lawsuits at anyone.  :-)

To some degree, heat can be good; it keeps the oil thin and slick in your car engine, for instance

PCBs and electronic components are NOT care engines!  They don't share any common characteristics!  Car engines contain 99.9% moving parts.  Computer components have very few.