Dell has teased us with a hint, however:

"Next week we will expand our desktop portfolio with four systems based on the new Core i7 architecture, the company said in a blog post, buried in a list of Dell's holiday lineup. "Three of the four systems will target gamers who tend to appreciate the latest and greatest performance technology. The fourth system is unique - it is NOT targeted toward gamers but instead should appeal to the more advanced digital divas (or those who aspire to be such), and given it's sub-$1,000 starting price point, it should be on the list of those who are looking to purchase a PC that will be relevant for the foreseeable future."

It's interesting that of the prices of the systems Dell chooses to highlight in its blog post, all are below $800. I think it's doubtful that all of the new Core i7 systems will be similarly priced, which unfortunately augurs a somewhat meager Christmas. I love PC gaming as much as anyone, but all I see in the local electronics circulars are ads for low-priced notebooks.

It's worth noting, however, that Intel has priced the cheapest Core i7 at less than $300. If Dell can juggle some component pricing, they might be able to sell a desktop at about $1,000, or just a bit higher. And that wouldn't be all that bad for a machine with a newly released microprocessor generation.