I thought it was pretty obvious we are talking about pairing CPUs with mid-range to high-end videocards given the videocards compared in the thread by the OP. It would be pretty pointless to argue that AMD CPU's aren't fast enough to pair with a GTS450 or an HD5770 for example (they are of course sufficient for those cards).
I don't see how there is "lunacy" in my statement considering the record profits and market share Intel continues to experience:
http://techreport.com/discussions.x/19800
If AMD Processors were such
good alternatives in the market < $200, why does Intel command an
80% market share? Surely, you don't believe it's because they are selling $200-$1000 CPUs to retain their leadership. My point still stands that I wouldn't recommend an AMD CPU between $100-$200 for as long as you can buy Core i5 750/760 for $170-200. There is a reason the
i5 750 got an Editor's Choice recently at Xbitlabs in the $100-200 mainstream category.
I realize that if you are doing rendering, audio/video work, of course an X6 processor is superior to an i5. However, we are talking about strictly gaming, which again was defined by me from the beginning.