Actually, I haven't finalized whether to do i5 or i7 yet.  My current rig is an AMD, and it has served me well, but I think I'm going Intel this time (I live in a hot place so the lower TDP is a big plus.)  I am thinking i7 because I need lots of RAM for sample editing, and some other tasks (12 GB will be the minimum).  Plus... is it me or is i5 not that much cheaper than i7?

Right now, I am thinking 5870, but who knows what Nvidia will do.  I have had good luck with both red and green in the past.

In any case, I am waiting a while for the new tech to hit the channels and stabilize a bit, so I probably won't move until Nov./Dec.

and the price of their cards will be several times that of a similiar AMD card for a 5% increase.

Have you looked at the upcoming 45W Propus quads? Lower TDP than any quad Intel has.

i5 is cheaper because P55 is cheaper than X58, not really because the CPUs are cheaper. But for 12GB of RAM with memory-intensive apps, the i7 and X58 will benefit you more than the cost saved.

Dont think so. Insiders are saying it could take 4-6 months before it's properly on the market.

"AMD estimates that it will be six months before any other graphics cards come out that support the standard."

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2250031/cards-amd-choice-directx

March.

Well, obviously AMD's going to say something like that, since then people will be more likely to buy their product.

I see what you mean, though this is the most reliable (relatively) source  so far. If Nvidia wants to object they can say otherwise - the silence is corroborating.

I really wish I could upgrade but I have no money and my current PC still manages to play the current gen games on high (with res at 1280x960).

Well, this article would also suggest that Nvidia doesn't seem too interested in DX11 as well, though: http://www.tweaktown.com/news/13199/amd_respond_to_nvidia_s_tough_radeon_hd_5800_questions/index.html

Which implies they don't have any DX11 products for a while.

The latest news from Charlie at Semiaccurate (if you believe him, personally I do) is that Nvidia are deciding whether to respin it and the decision to go ahead or not hasn't been made yet. Either it's a 2-3 month delay OR they launch at crippling sub-10% yields.