Verified answer

As i always say to my friends and customers, you never need to be up to date with computers.

Why not get the i5 which is totally recommended for its already high performance and pay less as well. In the end is up to you and your budget to decide this.

I can help you know why.

The i5 processor is more than enough for everything you can imagine: ***

-latest games,

-latest CAD software,

-even sound and video editing e.g for DJ's and game designers,

don't forget you have the ATI HD5650 which rocks in every aspect. In combination with i5 is

totally more than enough.

*** I assume both laptops in your comment, Dell and HP will have 4gb RAM.

As far as it comes to choose between Dell and HP, personally from experience i recommend

HP.

From Technical aspect:

I get less HP laptops for hardware faults in my lab than Dell.

From design:

I can't compare the sleek design of HP to anyone except MAC.

....and why not i7? As i said before.

If you like to have the most of the power or perform overclocking, experiment and keep the performance at its peak then go for the i7.

I hope i helped.

Best Regards

I7