I think P4's are the best cpu's for things like, Servers, Video editing machines etc, basicaly any machine that is going to be resource heavy.

The chances of frying your cpu on a normal PC if very very remote unless there is something wrong with your setup or you have "over"overclocked it.

For a normal home computer AMD's are more than good enough in every department and the cheaper price is an added bonus.

Why pay 100's of £'s for say a 3+ Ghz cpu when for a lot less you could get a 2+ Ghz cpu which will suffice just the same as a 3 Ghz, you will not notice the difference on a normal home computer used for every day things.( what do you need to do with a 3 Ghz cpu that you cant do with a 2+ Ghz cpu??)

I say save your money and buy AMD but there is no need to go, top of the range!