Robert,

You at least have to appreciate the dual memory controllers making the platform so scalable. Part of the value is in being less "boxed in" on how you leverage the Phenom II as a value proposition.

Have an existing AM2+ board that supports the recommended TDP? You can upgrade to the latest and greatest in AMD's line, you cant do that going from Core 2 to i7.

Lets say your not an enthusiast but you still demand a serviceable level of multimedia performance, AMD's board IGP's are far superior to anything Intel offers, a cost savings can be there for certain users.

Lets say your a tweaker and you just want a reasonably priced unlocked chip to play with, AMD is the only company offering this.

In total, the AMD platform is just more flexible, its all in how you leverage it. You don't have to use the 790FX/750SB combo AM3 board, you have a wide range of options.