Verified answer

It would be dependent on what your using the machine for. If its a game machine, the video card is the primary factor. If its a high end numbers cruncher and work machine the CPU is the item to look at. The 2400 would beat the the pants off the 955 in work, but for games, most any quad core over 2.6GHz would be good. So if your primary goal is gaming go for the 955 (get an AM3+ mother board so you could upgrade to the bulldozer if you want future proofing) with a high end video card. Otherwise the 2400 on a P67/Z68 board with a lesser video card..( or a H67/H61 and no graphics card at all!)

While the i5 2400 is considerably faster than the Phenom II X4 in everything, it's better to opt for a faster graphics card for better gaming performance. If you went with the i5 2400, how much could you put towards a card? And also, how much towards a card if you went with the Phenom II X4? I can recommend you the best card according to your budget in either option.

And theres your answer you pretty much had it in your question if you get the AMD you will get a more powerfull card so your going to get a better gaming experience from that setup than the intel with a mediocre card.Games generally are more dependent on the graphics card than the cpu and since the 955 is a reasonable cpu and you'll use a better card with it then thats the winner.

i think you should wait a bit longer when the amd bulldozer comes out the price will go down so you can get a even better gpu

I guess if it's that much cheaper, the phenom is best.

i5 would spank it.