There's no point in getting the old architecture.
Actually, there is. I'm aware that these processors weren't released yesterday and aren't as new as the i7, but they are still very strong. The Q9650 is a damn strong processor and will be able to run everything. The Q9650 is able to play all the latest games with ease and can perform regular tasks without even trying; more intensive tasks without a problem. And if that's still not enough for you and you're into some more demanding tasks, just overclock. Get a good cooler and overclock.
The i7 gives me
absolutely nothing the Q9650 could give me. What am I going to do with an i7? Alright, I'll get a few more FPS here and there and I'll save 1/5 of a second while loading Firefox or opening a movie, but that stuff is so insignificant it would be crazy to make it a deciding factor when spending so much money on a new processor, motherboard and memory.
So, in the end, the i7 gives me nothing I need, and it won't give me anything I will need for a few years. The Q9650 at stock speeds would last me just fine for 1 1/2+ years, but after that I could overclock and it would last me another year. So there are 3+ years of good use.
If I were to get the i7 instead of the Q9650, I would only be wasting
a lot of money to increase the size of my e-penis. In the part of Europe where I live in, just getting the motherboard and DDR3 RAM will cost me more than 2x the processor itself. I'd have to blow almost 700 Euro just to get the i7, and that's with the weakest and cheapest i7 processor. 700 Euro is a giant amount of money for somebody like me, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's like that for many of you.
However, that's my point of view as a regular gamer/user. If you're an enthusiast, then it's a whole different story. As an enthusiast, you want the best, regardless of how little it is from the second or third best and if you won't be able to see the difference without some software.
I'm happy they're dropping the price though. The problem with that is, where I live, the prices won't go down at all. The Phenom II's are going to be
significantly more expensive than in America.