AMD has been a disappointment after disappointment so far; at this point I'm not holding my breath for them to make a decent CPU. I think the built-in GPUs are great and all for those mini-towers and laptops, but in terms of actually making a powerful CPU (being a CPU company and all) they just can't seem to do it. The cheapy i3s have been beating out the Phenom II and especially those joke FX processors. I know you should never "pick sides" when it comes to manufacturing (since the leaders change constantly) but I had been an AMD fan for some time; I really liked their offerings for the DIY-PC crowd, offering really good performance at great prices without all the marketing, but at this point they are just getting freaking smashed in everything. Look at the actual programs and see the recommendations you'll get: Adobe - Intel/Nvidia; Sketchup - Intel/Nvidia; Autodesk - Intel/Nvidia; practically every game out there - Intel/(usually Nvidia). I guess the one decent use for AMD/ATI is HTPCs, but otherwise just not worth it. I replaced my wife's PC with an Intel, I replaced my PC and my work's PC with Nvidia, and now I'm also looking to replace my Phenom ii with, again, Intel.