TRT I think I had told you. Real life not a big difference if any.
But in becnmarks the i7 shines bro
However as far as upgrading, I dont think the i7 is really much of an upgrade to the Phenom II unless you are strictly into benching. However put them under the cold and you got your self an AMD winner.
on a side note, it is NOT that expensive to go i7 nowadays. People still have the wrong idea of this. AMD is still cheaper, but i7 is well withing reach for a lot of folks now.
$220 for CPU, $200 for board and $80 bucks for 3gb tri channel ram. RAM has D9JNL chips, <<did I get that right.
You guys think the RAM is garbage, see this review done by our very own FIT. 1.7v 2000MHz!!!
http://www.realredraider.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=3985
At the end of the day, I think AMD did really well with the Phenom II, although the overclocking capabilities are slightly better for the i7 on your more normal conditions, water cooling, air cooling. AMD does tear a new asshole when its put under extreme Conditions
AM3 is looking good. 4GHz at 1.45v, lets see as the platform progresses how things go for AMD