More than CPUs
HEXUS hasn't yet specifically benchmarked the 9950 BE against either of these Intel CPUs, but when we compared AMD's next best processor - the 9850 - to the Q6600 back in April, we concluded: "...the 65nm-based AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition's performance still lags behind the popular Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600."
So unless we're missing something, while there's certainly bang4buck parity at around the $190 price point, AMD's value argument is far from conclusive if you just look at the CPU in isolation.
The same seems to be more or less true as you move further down in prices, although Intel has left a gap between its cheapest Core 2 at $113 (E7300) and is most expensive Pentium at $84 (E5200), which AMD has filled with its Athlon X2 6000+ at $95.
To be fair to AMD, its argument is a bit more subtle than just saying its CPUs are cheaper. To find out a bit more we contacted AMD's senior product and platform marketing manager for EMEAI, Ian McNaughton.
Rather than getting into a direct comparison between AMD and Intel, McNaughton was most keen to emphasise the concept of the balanced PC. Essentially this means that people on a limited budget, i.e. everyone, should allocate their budget carefully among the components and peripherals in their PC.