CPU for SSF - i7, s775 or wait?

[aleco]

I'm building a new SSF to replace my aging Opteron 146 setup. I need a SFF due to space limitations and because it'll be acting as my TV and media centre too, so something nice and small is what I'm after (prob something like the Sugo sg01/sg03/sg04 as a case).

I built a Q6600 (the 95W version) system a year or two ago for someone else and put it in the sg01 case, using the NT-06 and PSU as the fan to pull the heat away from it. Works well and not suffered any heat problems. Nice and quiet too as practically no fans needed

Now, seeing as the price has actually gone up since I bought the q6600, I'm tempted to explore the i7 as I want this setup to ideally last a minimum of 3 years +

However, I've got a couple of concerns/questions:

1. There's a 35w difference between the q6600 and i7 920, is this likely to cause problems if I were to use a similar cooling setup as my previous build (i.e. using the NT06 and PSU as a fan)? Or is the i7 more efficient so most of the time it won't run that hot?

2. I've read about some energy efficient versions of the i7, but does it seem like they're not due out til 2010 Q1?

3. Or is it worth waiting for the 65W quads if they're not too far off?

Guess I'm basically deciding between another Q6600, an i7 920, or waiting for a 65w cpu. I know the cost of the matx i7 boards are shocking right now as they've only just appeared on the market, but I can wait a few months to see if prices drop a little.

(main uses of pc will be media centre - tv, blu-ray, etc, occasional game, but will be my only PC so needs to be a good all-rounder too rather than a purely dedicated htpc)

Thanks if anyone can provide any info!

 

[Snapshot]

Is there a reason why you're not considering a Yorkfield processor such as the Q8300? It should run cooler than either a Q6600 or an i720.

 

[Lanz]

You can get much better value mATX AMD systems, rather than intel. A Phenom II X3 720 on a 780G motherboard will cheaper, cooler and probably faster than a Q6600 based system.

You'll be paying a big premium for i7 and have limited choices of mATX boards, when in reality you probably wouldnt notice the difference in games.

 

[jawor121]

Surely wouldn't unless you would buy better graphic card when buying i7 than with am2. There are few interesting boards for amd.Especially Gigabyte ones. If you don't play games very often you may look at amd boards on Geforce chipset supporting hybrid-sli.Rember that you must buy Geforce graphic card if you want to use it,google which one because i can't remember.
Asus M3N78-CM-board supporting hybrid-sli,
Phenom II x3,
2x2gb of ram memory,
Geforce 9800gtx graphics.
The rest is up to you.