Just to be perfectly honest though, you probably wouldn't notice a performance
difference between an i7 system and a higher end Core 2 Quad system, unless
you were going for benchmarks.
But, you'll only save a few hundred dollars by choosing the Core 2 system, so
that's why I say go for the i7 if you have the cash.
You and me both, for what i paid i could have 12gb ram, two 24" monitors, two 1tb hdd's and a bloodrage foxconn motherboard, and prolly two gtx 275's. Oh well, technology changes fast lol, i wont be upgrading for awhile, my quad is plenty fast for now(and will go higher once i watercool).