In this situation is the i7 worth the extra cost?

[sh00t4par]

I posted here a few days ago about getting an iMac with an iPad. Well I got the iPad and now I'm going to order the iMac. My question is do you feel it is worth it to pay the extra cost and tax to get the i7? Unfortunately Amazon doesn't sell any i7 iMacs.

iMac 27" i5 = $1948 Amazon no tax

iMac 27" i7 = $2322 Apple online includes tax

I should mention what my usage will be. I run VMware Fusion with Windows XP, 7 and server 2000, 2003 and 2008. I also run linux instances as well. I am a Windows/Linux systems admin and work from home using my current MacBook Pro with Fusion running Windows XP for work. I basically just put my company's image on it to allow me to access work. Other than that it's just basic web, chat and email for me.

 

[noah82]

I think its worth it in the long run.

 

[Hellhammer]

Just get the i5. Biggest difference between i5 and i7 is that i7 supports Hyper-Threading which can give up to 30% boost but in your usage, there is no difference really, especially something that is worth ~370$

Save the money towards RAM

 

[velocityg4]

Just get the i5. Biggest difference between i5 and i7 is that i7 supports Hyper-Threading which can give up to 30% boost but in your usage, there is no difference really, especially something that is worth ~370$

Save the money towards RAM

I would also look at an external FW800 hard drive for storing your Parallels installation. Since an OS can read/write a lot to a hard drive running two OSes on one drive can impact performance a lot. I set this up on a customers Mac Pro and found both OSes to be far more responsive than when everything was on one hard drive.

 

[sh00t4par]

So really what I am hearing is that other than bragging rights there really is no gain in having the i7 for my use. Where would the hyper threading you get with the i7 really be a factor? I guess with the savings on price + tax, the better return policy and my Amazon Prime shipping, going with the i5 is an easier decision than I anticipated.