Is the Q9450 available right now? no. Does it have a wide and proven track record? no. Am I ready for a new PC now? yes.
As to why I chose the X38 board, it's more complicated than you are implying - but suffice to say I have no regrets despite fully understanding the price/benefit...
Agreed. I just bit on a G0 Q6600 + GA-X38-DQ6 combo to replace my 939 4400+ for may of the same reasons as you posted. Proven OC track record, affordable, and available right now. Done, done, done. :) I will wait for all the early adopters to work through the bugs, then when the price...