i7 is good or not depend on its model . i5 2500k beats all i7 first gen except the extreme edition . i7 2600k and i7 2700k is faster but it's not best bang per buck
+Budget Build : New Z68 or Z77 mobo + Pentium Sandy Bridge G860 (as fast as i3 2100 but it doesn't have Hyper Threading) or i3 2120
_3Ghz i3/i5/i7 2nd gen (Sandy Bridge) is much faster than 3Ghz i3/i5/i7 1st gen (about 20%)
_3Ghz i3/i5/i7 is faster than 3Ghz Core 2 Duo /Core 2 Quad
+Enthusiast Build : New Z68 or Z77 mobo + i5 2500k @ 4.4 , it should be enough for Mario Galaxy,The Last Story ....
Pentium Sandy Bridge , i5 2320 , i5 2500 , i7 2600, i7 2700 (non K ) can not be overclocked
+Budget Build : New Z68 or Z77 mobo + Pentium Sandy Bridge G860 (as fast as i3 2100 but it doesn't have Hyper Threading) or i3 2120
_3Ghz i3/i5/i7 2nd gen (Sandy Bridge) is much faster than 3Ghz i3/i5/i7 1st gen (about 20%)
_3Ghz i3/i5/i7 is faster than 3Ghz Core 2 Duo /Core 2 Quad
+Enthusiast Build : New Z68 or Z77 mobo + i5 2500k @ 4.4 , it should be enough for Mario Galaxy,The Last Story ....
Pentium Sandy Bridge , i5 2320 , i5 2500 , i7 2600, i7 2700 (non K ) can not be overclocked
Laptop: (Show Spoiler)
Mini PC :: (Show Spoiler)