iMac i5 or i7?? HELP!!

[Maracken]

So... I'm pretty set on buying an iMac

But I'm stuck between getting the i5 2.8 quad or i7 2.9 quad.

I'm probably going to go refurbished.
The prices differences are £1429 (i5) vs £1562 (i7).
Is spending the extra £133 worth it?

I thinking mostly in the longer term, not intending to buy anything after this for the next 4-5 years.

Will be looking to use it for:
Photo-editing/design - CS5
Video/music editing and recording - Final Cut/Pro Tools/Logic
Some gaming - Half-Life 2/Starcraft 2
And then general tv shows, music listening (big library), internet browsing.

Will the i5 work for all that I'm looking to do, over the period I want it to last??
Or will the i7 be a better "investment" so to speak?

Also, am I "future-proofing" myself more if I go with the hyper threaded i7 (so 8 cores), or will the i5 (4 cores) "future-proof" me just as well over 4-5 years??

From reading around I get the feeling that if programmes are going to be written to work with multiple cores it makes sense to go quad but, for what I'm looking to do, is it just as beneficial to go with the i5, or fork out the extra £133 and go i7??

Any help and opinions would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Theclamshell]

If you can afford it definatley go for the i7, it will last the 4-5 years you want to keep it

 

[simsaladimbamba]

For 133 GBP I would definitely go with the i7, just because of the eight threads it does allow.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/839480/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/832769/

 

[GGJstudios]

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