I'm not a big gamer to be honest. I have no idea why I felt the need to get a quadcore.
Last Intel I had set on fire. It was quite dramatic. Though this was a while back and I'm quite sure they have been improved since then. This was way before the i series was even announced or sold. I've also had a ton of problems with Nvidia video cards and driver issues.
My computer isn't exactly top of the line but, It works. For the price, I really couldn't beat it. $498 plus a $50 in store credit. I was able to buy headphones and a game for the PS Vita. That was a nice bonus.