Stick with the i7, the i9 is not a big improvement, and the chassis can't handle the thermals anyway so it throttles under max load, which would be the main point of having it. Also don't mix the RAM, it slows it down. Buy 64 and put that in, take out the original 8 that it came with. Also: 64 runs faster with 4x16 than 2x32, so if you don't think you'll want to upgrade to 128, then go with 4x16.
GAS? Never heard of itBut yeah, I've been going back and forth on whether to spend the additional $360 to make the jump from 8 core i7 to the 10 core i9 (I get the military discount). As much fun as it would be to have the i9, I will probably end up with the i7 but will go all the way on the graphics card. I think I would more likely buy the nano-texture screen for $400 since I'm a semi-serious amature photographer and want to get more into video too.
As long as the memory is user upgradable there is no way I would buy more than the minimum 8GB from Apple. My plan is to add two more 32GB sticks (OWC) for a total of 72 which will likely be as much as I'll ever need (well, never say never).
