Most people Ive talked with and read, are going I Yii I to the i3/i5/i7 debacle, and saying screw it, Im waiting for sandy bridge, and holding my C2D/Q, they dont even want the next tic , and are waiting for the tock. Delaying i5, and having i5 and i7 so close to perf on DT I believe is hurting Intels sales somewhat.
If youll notice, theres a resentment about i5 for some reason. Intel created the 2 tier, now they have to live with it.
This is Intels answer to the future, early on model, much like the G200 is for nVidia. It brings in HT,turbo and more than quad cores, all of which is vital for the growth of cpus in the future. I like Annands comments about it found here http://www.wepc.com/discussions/view/6612/Two_Important_Trends_in_the_CPU_Industry. He describes pretty much what we have today in i7, and possibly the future. Having several cores go turbo for certain demanding tasks, while also offering several other cores for other apps/chores, or having them powered down. It addresses the single thread and or Ghz issue while also addressing the MC issue.
The one trend I do see in all this, is that the heavy enthusiast who ocees like a banshee may not embrace this all that much, as these chips wont oc nearly as well as older, lessor cored ones. So, unless the enthusiasts embrace a somewhat altered path in ocing satisfaction, theyll be longing for the older, simpler days IMHO