Wow this is ridiculous. I had the same stock build and just got an i7-920. It's a better processor. The truth is Q6600 is fine for 99% of all games w/ a decent graphics card; I was running a GT8800 w/ 2GB memory and I had sc2 beta turned ALL THE WAY UP @ 1050p. There was literally 1 setting I didn't max, and i suffered no slowdown whatsoever (so I could probably max it fine). Everyone makes a big deal about the new processors, but honestly most video games don't USE 4 threads; quad core isn't significantly better than dual core for most games as I understand it. There's a good expalantion of that on this forum somewhere. I only read the first 10 or so entries before I got the point - sorry if this is repeat information. If you want a better gaming experience, instead of even considering an i9, get a decent i5/i7, overclock the heck out of it, and get an uber monitor - or 2 - and an appropriately uber gpu. When it comes to games, you're basically wanting eye-candy, and that will be more cost efficient eye candy. Regards.