Refurbished CPU is it possible?

You worded it correctly when you said "sold as refurbished." It is not literally refurbished per se. Most of the time refurb parts are just returns that people weren't satisfied with. Then the manufacturer re-tests them and if they past they become "refurbished." Nobody tore apart that chip and fixed it. It was returned and it still works, but can't be sold as new again.

Athlon XP 1900 (11x200) 42C (Load w/AX-7 & 8cm Tornado) - MSI K7N2 Delta - Corsair Value PC3200 - Gainward GF3 @ 250/550 - 80Gb WD 8Mb Cache -

yeah, if you return an item where you opened it, usually you will be charged a 15 percent restocking fee and the item will be sold as a refurbished item.

</font color=red><b><font color=orange>my sys:
mobo: Abit AN7 @ 442 FSB
CPU: AMPm 2600+ @ 4100+
ram: crosair xms @ 1:1 running 2.5-3-3-6
HDD: two raptors on raid 0
vid: 9800pro @ 467mhz GPU and 834mhz ram