If you check some of the posts here in LYN and other places, you'll see that the i7 920 clocks very well due to it not being tied to an on-die PCIe controller, so the LGA1366 platform will probably outperform the best LGA1156 in the hands of a good overclocker. That's what I gather la, so far.

But then, as 1156 matures, coupled with the faster access times of dual channel DDR3, applications that matter most to consumers may favor the 1156 more than 1366.

There are a few sites that tested the i7 920 for games, and the conclusion is that unless you're running GTX260 SLI or above, the bottleneck is at the GPUs. It takes tri-SLI and CrossFireX to really stretch those Nehalems.

On apps that don't have hyperthreading code, you may even find that the i5 750 is about as fast as the higher end procs due to similar clock speeds and only 2 or 4 cores utilised.

So unless you do a whole lot of photoshopping or video rendering/encoding, the i7 860 or i5 750 would be more than enough for most ppl. Don't forget also that 1156 uses less power than 1366

If for gaming only, it looks as though i5 is good enough for now. Depends also on what GC or GCs you're planning to use..... If you're the type who likes to upgrade often, then i5 for now, then when i7 860s launches the overclocking potential may improve due to lower TDP, so can upgrade then. If you buy i7 860 now, then early next year when i7 860s comes out you will bang bola But, if you don't plan to oc then you can go ahead and get the 860 now, since the 860s will come with a slightly lower default clock speed.