MEHHHHHH!!!! I still rather spend the extra $20 for Intel Q6600. But I'm glad AMD has something to counter Intel. FINALLY!!!! Well, I shouldn't say counter.....AMD is positioning their quad core as the most affordable quad core CPU in the market today and currently not planning to attack Intel's offerings in the high end field.
Bottom line:
"The Phenom 9600 is about 13.5% slower than Intel's Q6600 in benchmark testing. On the other hand, its price is also 13.6% lower than that of its direct competitor. Thus, the two products offer practically the same performance for your money."
AMD is planning to introduce a Phenom Black Edition this year that will have an open multiplier--which should enable users to hit the 3+ GHz.