Q: What do those numbers for the CPU mean?

A: Its actually quite simple. The number of the CPU doesnt tell the speed, but it tells the potential, or the possibility of the CPU's capability's.  For example, take the Athlon XP 3200+ for the socket A motherboard; Its actual speed is 2.2GHz. But the CPU speed cant determine it all. Other things in the processor matter also. Combining the over all output of performance is what gives the final result. And in the end, The Athlon XP 3200+, can be just as good (if not better) than the Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz processor. Its hard to believe due to the dramatic difference between in speed. But a CPU's speed, doesn't measure its performance, the overall does. Winning just one race, doesn't guaranty the next. The over number of the CPU says it all. Not the speed. You see there are little things in a CPU that are called "pipelines" and the shorter the pipelines the less speed you need to make the data go through! There for you could have a 2GHz CPU and it would outpreform a P4 3GHz (on some CPUs) and there for make less heat which = more efficiant.

If you see something like "This 2700+ can overclock from 1.86GHz to 2.7Ghz-will leave 3200+ in the dust!" That is wrong and a lie. like I said, the 3200+ has small pipeline and the ones under the number 3200+ has larger ones. Overclocking a 2700+ to  2.7GHz will maybe make it as good but most likly not and it will never be better. Now a days GHz does not matter! yes thats right, pipelines matter. Its like this: you walk in a small tunnle and it takes you 2 minutes to reach the end, OR you can run a long tunnle and reach the end in 2 minutes. The 3200+ is walking the tunnnle because its piplines are so small that it doesnt need as much speed to transfer data from one place to the other. The 2700+ is the one running to just keep up with the 3200+ when its overclocked, and overclock = more heat.