My basic reason for not saying Q6600, while it's a decent chip, is because a dual-core is all that's necessary. Save the budget--save $600-700 for a better upgrade months down the line. A Q6600 won't be utilized by much, unless you're using professional programs. Even so, an E5200 at 4.4GHz will do VERY well in most of these programs as well, as do much better in single-threaded and dual-threaded applications. Managing your actual load can make or break your experiences. I have my computer running at 100% 24/7--the CPU (E2140) and GPU (HD3850) are crunching (WCG) and folding (F@H) all the time. The way I get by and still use the computer regularly is keeping those heavy-load applications on the lowest priorities. It lets everything else run smoother, and lets them get most of the work done pretty darn well.
Anyways--there ARE more and more games coming out for quad-cores, but IMO there's not enough right now. Save your money, and get an upgrade when it's more necessary and there's nothing much on the horizon. LGA775 will still be the socket of choice for low and medium priced computers--it's not going to disappear overnight, though P45 is the last Intel chipset for it. It's not going to get much better for Conroe or Penryn, so now's the time.
