i7 v i5 gaming, FCP, heat - thoughts?

[aki]

Hi all.

I'm having to consider a new iMac purchase (I say "having to" coz my old one passed on ). I notice that a 27" i7 (with 4GB ram) is the same price as a similarly configured i5 (with 8GB ram).

I've read plenty of places that "for most people" the only practical difference between the i7 and i5 is heat output; while I know from experience that the more ram you can jam in the higher you fly.

My main uses for the iMac will be video editing in iMovie and FCP, and gaming. (I used to do a lot of work in FCP but actually probably less so in the future...)

So what is the consensus from those who know such things, is it better/more reasonable to go for ram or cpu, presuming I choose only one?

(Also, is there any possibility that future OSX or other software changes will make more use of the i7 than at present? Or is the performance difference always likely to be only in the 10% range?)

Thanks for any advice!

PS Yes I realize there is probably a rev of the iMac coming soon, unfortunately as I am currently 100% macless I can only hold off so long. Hopefully it comes soon but otherwise I'll just jump.

 

[Hellhammer]

RAM you cal always upgrade, CPU you cannot. In future, more and more software will take advantage of Hyper-Threading which can boost up to ~30%. Shouldn't be much difference in heat either so I'd just jump for i7 and upgrade RAM from aftermarket

 

[aki]

In future, more and more software will take advantage of Hyper-Threading which can boost up to ~30%.

This is exactly the sort of info I was after. Much thanks Hadeshammer! Will go the i7 then.