The cpu that allows a higher multiplier generally can oc a little better imo. You may get a 3000 that can run 300FSB all day long, but odd are you wont. If you got one that handled 250ish, and only a multiplier of 9, then your limit is gonna be 2250 no matter what you do. On the 3800 however, if you only got a FSB of 250, but a multi of 12, then you could concievably hit 3k. Most people say that higher FBS and lower multi is better, but not much DDR can handle 600mhz heh, then you will be limited there as well. If you get ram that runs good at 233 mhz, then having those extra multipliers helps alot. 233x12=2796, but 233x9 is only 2097.. so you can clearly see where a higher multi can be beneficial.