I agree. The Core i7 is a beast on steroids but for that price...hmmmmm. However the Phenom II looks very promising! Definitely the best bang for your buck. Looks like AMD is starting to make a comeback.
Well really... I don't think they could give a toss whether the average consumer can afford the LGA 1337 (can't remember how pins exactly) Core i7's. They have stated it is the absolute top-of-the-line and that section of CPU's has always been hideously overpriced.
They will bring out the other ones (less pins and no tri-channel memory) later this year - and that will be for us normal folk. Then again, that could lead to AMD shifting up a gear and having it's top range (well priced) CPU's totally outdo the mid range i7's.