" new RISC processor?" um the risc is the processor used for macs from day one. ~g~ technically, the athlon chips do more work at lower clockspeeds, a 800mhz athlon is a faster running chip than a 1.4 ghz intel p4 by benchmark test. cost, now at least, is not much difference between the two, the amd being a bit lower, but the performance, by benchmark testing standards, is actually much higher with the amd athlon. the 1.8 ghz athlon is eqivalent to a 2.4 ghz intel p4