OK, realized I could test my own theories on memory speed. I have a 100MHz AMD T-Bird, which I run at 133MHz. So I can adjust the memory bus speed from the BIOS - but only to be equal or faster than CPU speed, so I had to slow the chip back to 100MHz first. So I re-ran the tests at 3 combinations of CPU and memory bus speeds. Each was from a BIOS-level reboot, nothing else running except of course the necessary safe computing prophylactics! (The slight difference in CPU speed is closest I can get with chip multiplication factor with this BIOS.) All timing by stopwatch. 1.066GHz @ 133MHz, memory @ 133MHz, 1GB Ram, Win2K = 370 1.000GHz @ 100MHz, memory @ 133MHz, 1GB Ram, Win2K = 406 1.000GHz @ 100MHz, memory @ 100MHz, 1GB Ram, Win2K = 423 So with CPU at 100, and varying memory from 100 to 133 shows ~ 4% improvement. Whereas leaving the memory at 133 and adjusting CPU up from 100 to 133 shows a 10% improvement. So this would seem to NOT support the memory bus speed theory. Raw CPU - or FSB - speed has more than double the effect! Yeah, I know these are all slow speeds, but this should show up differences more clearly, as the increase is 33%.