Intel Q9450 vs Phenom 9850 - ATI HD3870 X2

[Hornet331]

from market's perspective

1) insignificantly in games
2) for a cost
3) scaling is the same as for Intel's CPUs. Platform's scaling is higher
4) true, though not sure about the "unfortunately" part. There should be a reason to buy high-end GPUs

1) not if you look at the data jack/legion hw has provided, phenom seriously gimps the 4870X2
2) depends, you need a 9850 to competent against a Q6600 (still a bit slower then a Q6600) and they are the same price, when we factor in ocing, the Q6600 is the better value.

[gosh]

1) not if you look at the data jack/legion hw has provided, phenom seriously gimps the 4870X2

What you need a fast video card for is higher settings. like the light (or what they call it) in stalker clear sky. if you get 200 FPS or 400 FPS it doesn't matter

[Hornet331]

What you need a fast video card for is higher settings. like the light (or what they call it) in stalker clear sky. if you get 200 FPS or 400 FPS it doesn't matter

it doesn't matter for you, many people, especial on this board, would disagree with you. Plus the 4800X2 is targeted at people that want "extreme peformance", why artificially constrict the peformance of a card....