[airspirit]

IMHO, I don't mind if my CPU only lasts 3 years. Honestly, in the crowd that we're in, how many of us would be bothered if our CPU went out faster than that? By the time that $200 processor is showing age in a couple of years, you can slap a brand spankin' new one in for $30. For the amount of speed you gain over the life of both chips, you're coming out ahead.

For certain people I build machines for, I give them this logic laid out. I ask them to order in importance the following three items: speed, price, and longevity. Once that is done, I explain that I can get them a 1700+ TBredB for $50, a 2100+ TBredB for around $100, or a 2700+ for around $300. With the first, I can get it to run slightly slower than the two more expensive chips, but it will most likely die in 2 years. With the other two, I don't have to push them as hard, so they'll probably last much longer, though in three years they'll be thinking about an upgrade anyway.

Note: I ALWAYS explain to my customers the values and risks of overclocking their machines either by just a little or a whole lot. I have never had anyone refuse to have it buffed. Every once in a while I'll get someone who is leery, so as I'm building the machine and stress testing it at higher speeds I have them sit next to me and watch. Once they realize the relatively safety of a moderate overclock, even the most conservative people insist I leave it faster. Even at my business, every computer I've built for them is overclocked at least 20%. The price/performance advantage makes this the logical move.

Needless to say, I've never had a single person go for a 2700+. Most go for the 1700+ knowing that even if it toasts in a year, they can buy better than the 2400+ to replace it and STILL come out ahead financially, and some go for the 2400+ because they don't want to be bothered with upgrading for a while. The amount of importance they put on longevity also affects how far I push the chip in regards to how far it'll go (I typically keep it at 50-80 Mhz below peak stable speed, though for longevity people I lower it another 100 Mhz to lower the voltage further).

In all honesty, CPUs can almost be considered a disposable commodity anymore: you can OC a cheap one to the speed of an expensive one, and even if you fry three or four of them, you'll still be ahead pricewise. If you can buy a computer for $500 that performs like one for $1000, why would you care if in a year in a half you have to replace a $50 part or two? In the end you come out ahead.