And like I said, fast-cgi will always fail, especially with big sites...I should know.

If you're going to test it, use php-fpm with nginx, against apache with prefork-mpm.

I guarentee that nginx and fpm will put less strain on the server and use less resourses. Combined with an opcode cache, you will kick apaches ass.

In terms of serving static content (i.e streaming .flv from you're server) nginx will easily out perform apache. If you look at any of the big image hosting sites you will find the majority use nginx, plain and simple.