Thirdeye wrote:yes, isn't the only difference between i5 and i7's hyperthreading really? and maybe a few fps?
i5's are amazing, you really don't need an i7 for gaming yet, however there's a few advantages to having one at the cost of paying more.
•Hyper-Threading
•Faster Clock Speeds
•More Cache Memory
•Better Power and Heat Management
Due to the better heat and power management, i7's are the CPU of choice for pushing over-clocking as far as it can go, some CPU's are stable at 5.0 ghz + with the right setup (ideally liquid cooling)
When it comes to gaming, if you do not have a bottle-neck anywhere you might not really see a huge difference yet for most games, some modern games are utilizing new technology's that works better with i7's and this will be more of a thing for the future.
As for bottle-necking, you wont really run into that issue with an i5, as they're solid CPU's and can support any high end GPU, anyone with something as old as an i3 can have serious bottle-neck issues running high end components however.
i7's however are the CPU of choice when it comes to production environments though, such as rendering 3D scenes, creating audio, editing media and creating graphics due to hyper-threading.
Other than that, i7's are just for enthusiasts who wish to future-proof and be Ahead of the Curve when it comes to specs.