AMD or Intel for Games machine?

For multi GPU systems (4870 X2) the i7s will do a better job. The 920 on the LGA 1366 platform is the way to go if you plan on crossfiring 2 4870 X2s.

Wel, although the i7 would be a great setup, as far as price/performance goes, honestly .. I'd reccomend a Phenom II chip. The 720 is great and very OC'able .. and then there are the great 955 and 965 Phenom II x4's which are very, very good when it comes to gaming performance. So yea if you just have a lot of extra money, the i7 920 is a win but considering the triple channel DDR3 RAM and 1366 mobo's are fairly costly, you're going to spend a good bit more than you would for some good DDR3 1333/a 790GX mobo/Phenom II core. So it basically depends on your budget. Either way is fine though. A Phenom II 955 and a good video card, coupled with good RAM would be more than enough power for ARMA 2 and pretty much whatever else your'e going to play in the near future.

I run the 955 and will soon have a Radeon 5870 and I don't think ANY games will give me any trouble even maxed for a hot minute. So don't get the idea AMD is any less of an option! ^_^

p2 965 = absolute waste of money

p2 965 is only 5 dollars more than 955, so why not

But I tend to lean to i7 because it has already been proven that motherboards and CF or SLI setups scale a little better than AMD mobos

^Who says pII 965 is a neccesity? Yes, it is a waste of money for those who don't want overclock at all. Imagine an old man, around 70 who wants to play nfs, only. Do you think he would be interested in oc? I guess not. Everything is an option, one is better, one is worse, but whatever you pick will do fine.

id say go for an intel processor. depending on budget either an i5 750 or an i7 870.

for the graphics though ATI is the way to go. a 5870 (or maybe two?) would give you amazing performance.

i5 750, it runneth

Most benchmarks show that the 750 will outperform any current AMD chip at stock or comparable overclocks. The 860 will outperform the i750 and when OC'd come so close so often to a 965 that the price isn't worth it.

Here's some data you should find relevant, using 4870X2s:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-gaming,2403...

how can the 965 not be a waste of money? The i5 750 matches or surpasses it in almost every situation for $50 cheaper.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=109&p2=10...

i5's platform is more money though. 955, 920, or 750, depending on budget.

I have gone for the Intel 860 and will post my results ina coupel fo days., Thanks for the input  

You won't be sorry, esp. if they throw in a Razer for that 'hairy' bum  

I will use the CPU fan to trim it!