New gaming rig with 22inch maybe 24inch

Ok so this christmas I gave my wife my 4600 x2 with a 1950 radeon pro gaming rig. Now I love gaming so much but I dont want to spend so much if I want to play Farcry2 or crysis. I even wanted to go ahead and buy me a 360 or a ps3. But cmon us pc gamers know why we use the pc and not the consoles.... The freaking Graphics man just to name one thing...

So I have a giant dilema here Im going to be making me a pc starting january. i plan on using a 22inch 1680 by 1050 or maybe a 24inch but if I get a 24inch then I would need a better videocard then a 4870 if I plan on maxing out my games right?

So here is my giant dillema. I want to go quadcore since I know that on the long run that would be better but at the prices right now the e8400 looks really tempting. I just lost complete faith on the phenoms even though amd mobos are cheaper. Wich cpu would you guys recomend If Im going to be using a 4870 on a 22inch or maybe a 24inch monitor? will a c2d be hurting me that much in the long run then a quad? If so Should I really save my money and get me the new i7s? Geez im goin crazy here guys please helpme.


ps. this new rig would be for gaming only... I want to stress that out though I dont care about anything else. Thats why sometimes I think Im wasting my money on just a gamin machine