is this better or the i7 for 200 at microcenter? any thoughts?

Q9550 also downed from $266 to $219 which is 0.17GHz faster, and has 12MB L2 cache that makes significant performance gap compared to Q9400.
#1 i7-920 sold for $200? I can't find that deal anywhere.

if you can find an i7 920 for $200 that's a much better deal than this. Of course you need a mobo that can support the i7 920.

If you want to stay with the LGA 775 system, Microcenter has the Core 2 Quad Processor Q9550 for $169.99 (in store only).

at this price point I think I'll go for a q9xxx.

the q9550 is much better, grab that at a microcenter if you can

if you don't mind a micro motherboard (still 2 pcie 16x for sli) the evga micro is now 200$, and 6gb of very good memory (OCZ gold or platinum) can be had for 100, along with a 920=500 for the ddr3/nehalem setup. that's pretty good given that most D0's w/ a solid aftermarket cooler (megahalem, true) can get to 4.0Ghz w/ HT on, so 8 threads.

but if you had mobo/ddr2 waiting, the q9550 is the quad core to get.

these are getting cheap, nice.

#1 If you're building a new system from the ground up then grab the $200 i7 at Microcenter. Otherwise if you're already running a 775 system, might be cheaper to just grab a new proc depending on what you have now. Also when you go there don't let them tell you that they do not have the new D0 revisions without checking, those funky salesmen hide the good stuff in the back.

#2 yes microcenter has i7 920's for $200 in-store pickup only. checking on the site right now, the one by my house in Santa Clara has 255 in stock.