I'm not arguing the i7 isnt faster. I'm arguing the Phenom II is better buy for the average consumer. As for the game benches I've seen some where the Phenom II spanks the i7. However no one can argue the Phenom II can hold a candle to the i7 in encoding.
Completely depends on what you mean by "average" consumer. If you mean most who use computers, then most of them don't game either, but mostly just surf the web and such. For these people, a PII is overkill as well (w/ the one exception being the x3 720, I swear if it wasn't for that proc the whole line would be useless). Any old regular dual core suits them fine, pre-builts and all the junk and unoptimized windows crap is what slows them down (if you don't see the value in a mac, try using a pre-built unconfigured pc and then imagine doing it if you were your grandmother or computer illiterate friend).
Of those people (general public), many are just as likely to be into music/video editing as gaming (perhaps a bit more likely), and for these things i7 is far and a away better for the money.
Now, if you mean people on forums like these, you still have to be more specific. Because the "average" person on a forum like this is a hardware junkie, buys parts for the hell of it, likes synthetic benchies and oc'ing, and generally goes for the best around. Again, i7 is better for the money.
If, however, you mean by "average" they are playing mostly games and/or have a love affair w/ AMD, then yes PII does serve a better buy for those folks. I would hesitate to call them average though. 720BE is great in all situations though, doesn't matter what the build that's just a great chip for the money. Thought I would clarify though......