i run a pentium d 950 with a thermaltake blue orb 2 cpu fan and i have absolutely no complaints i do not overclock and i really do not play alot of pc games. i do play warhammer 40k dawn of war and dark crusade with no problems and i currently only have a cheap 512 stick of ddr2 installed. one of my roomates has a pIII and my other roomate has an amd cpu (939)socket. it seems that the old pIII works better than his amd, but then again it all depends on your preference, price spent, and the applications you are working. i have downloaded music, dvd movies, and music videos all while surfing the net and using microsoft word for college. and i have yet to see a temp above 37 degrees celsius.