The Core 2 Duo has the AMDs pegged at every price bracket. Also the Core 2 Duos have a larger Cache and are simply the performance benchmark now. I had this discussion before on OcUK and got turned to a Core 2 Duo and funnily enogu I wanted the X2 4200 also. Heres the thread

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...php?t=17675798

The prices have changed now but I still think the general consensus is that Intel have AMD at the moment. Nothing can beat the Core 2 Duo range