@Absolute0,
remember Intel PIII issues and Intel recalled thousands of processors?
remember Intel PIV overheating issues?
The only bad product in AMD was Phenom 9xxx series and that too only the first batch which was fixed later.
Phenom II X4 is slowly moving towards core i7 and it offers terrific VFM.
I have been AMD user for more than 6 years and am proud to be one. (and my first procesor was Intel PIII)
here is an example:
1) Intel E8400 (8.5k) + gigabyte/asus P45 based motherboard (5.5k) + 4gig ram (2.5k) + Palit 9500GT (3.5k) amounts to 20k
2) AMD Phenom II X2 550 (5.5k) + Gigabyte/ASUS 780G board (4.3k) + 4gig ram (2.5k) + PowerColor HD4870 512MB GDDR5 card (9.5k) amounts to 21k.
Your choice which way you want to go.
how different will the performance of amd and intel setups will be when it comes to gaming. wont be needing max setting in the games, but at medium setting in the games like gta4 , fear etc.