Well, i look at it this way:
The phenom you guys suggest vs. the 2500K:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=88
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110113081720AAsK5XA
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/306380-31-deciding-2500k-build
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=666255
OUCH! No contest
Just for the heck of it:
The Phenom II X4 970 BE ($169.99) vs. the 2500K:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/186?vs=288
Still not there.
The Phenom II X6 1090T BE ($199.99) vs. the 2500K
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/146?vs=288
Closer
Finally the Phenom II X6 1100T BE ($229.99) vs. the 2500K
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=288
Wins a couple, but still loses in gaming benchmarks
Any questions?