Too much im sure, these new processors are overpriced.
The CPUs are actually quite decent, with the "low end" (mind you this is a QC and it's no longer on an FSB platform, which is a big step) is only $320. That said, the platform costs are insane at present. You're looking at $250-$350 for RAM that would cost you perhaps $120 in DDR2 terms, and $300-$350 motherboards, which can only be regarded as enthusiast. All told, it's close to or over a grand for your three "primary" components, where a similar C2Q Penryn base setup (3 components) will run you anywhere from a third to half that.
Am I the only one who remembers the Q6600 launching at $851, dropping to $531 a few months later, and finally hitting the nice low affordable MSRP of $266? That said, it sure happened fast-but in all seriousness, the i7s as CPUs alone are not that terribly expensive, especially when one considers all they have at the moment are three offerings, one of which obviously has to take the "standard" $1k slot.
The Dell is cheap-almost but not quite too cheap-but it does have a shitty video card in it (replaceable, though), and they do throw in a 20" monitor. It runs in the realm of $1k uncustomized and that deal is only good for something like the next 2-3 days (if that-sorry, wasn't paying attention), so hurry if you want it.
