Even the experts don't really know how current gen tech will really perform...
The Q6600 for example has proven to be an amazing processor. I've had mine OCed from 2.4 - 3.0 for like 3 years now.
My old 8800 gtx actually died I had totally forgotten...I replaced it with an ATI Radeon HD 4650. Bought it like 6 months ago.
It's now a $40-80 card and can run MANY current-gen games at medium settings; and previous gen games at mostly high settings.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 for example I can run on High settings @ 1600x900 and get a stable 30FPS. I overclock the card though: from 625mhz core to 700mhz and memory from 500 to 550mhz. Even OCed this much the hottest it ever gets is about 75C during long gaming sessions. Drops back down to 40C in probably 30 seconds after exiting a game.
The ATI cards seem to cool much better -- this model of the card has a VERY small fan too.
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