JeffLaw wrote:
I'm in the market for an economy PC to hold me over for a year or so.
I see Price Watch lists several vendors that can sell a complete
Athlon 3000, 2800 and Intel P4 2.66 system (without OS) for around
$200. I do a little video editing, but gaming performance is my main
priority. I found a few benchmark comparisons that showed the Athlon
2800 beating the 3000 in several areas, but it wasn't clear whether it
was overclocked. Other web sites conflicted with that info & said the
3000 does out-perform the 2800 in most areas, but only marginally.
Both Athlon's out-performed the P4 2.66 benchmarks in most areas that
matter to me. Cost being equal, is the Athlon 3000 the best best?

yes

Athlon has fewer pipeline stages.