The impact on the predicted Teff scale of using the latest MARCS model atmospheres, instead of a fixed atmospheric structure (e.g., the gray T–τ relation) is examined. The former were fitted to stellar interior models at both the photosphere and at τ = 100 to determine the sensitivity of evolutionary tracks and isochrones for [Fe/H] = 0.0 and −2.0 to the chosen fitting point. In the case of solar abundances, the Teff of the giant branch varied by up to 100–150 K, depending on how the outer layers were treated. Much smaller variations were found for metal-poor giants (or main-sequence stars). Interestingly, models for the low solar Z favored by Asplund et al. (Z=0.0125) were unable to reproduce the gap near the turnoff in the C-M diagram of the old open cluster M 67, in contrast to models that assume Z=0.0188.