I'm glad I picked the i7 2600k, performance wise it is great, I have had absolutely no problem with it at all, can handle anything I throw at it. According to the article the i7 2600k is the top echelon of the Sandy Bridge range at R3000, now that may seem a little excessive for your average gamer, but we must remember that the older series i7's had hefty price tag. i7 980x going for around R9000 kind of hefty.