I am running a pretty recent i5 with 8 GB of RAM. What would give the most benefit, switching to an 17 system or adding more RAM (my system can handle 16 GB max).
I don't run any samplers. Most projects have 16 to 24 audio tracks. I do use quite a few plugins, including Drumagog in many projects.
Obviously, switching to a new i7 system would be pretty expensive whereas, adding RAM would be much more affordable.
Any thoughts on this? 

If it was me I would first go for the cheaper option of buying more Ram and see how your system works. At the very least if you later  moved up to an i7 system, the extra money you spent on Ram for your old system would make the 2nd hand price more interesting to someone looking for an upgrade system of their own.
Hope it helps.

an Intel I7 bro.
Rodney, I buy all my stuff here. my latest build is using this processor
http://www.microcenter.com/product/434176/Core_i7-4790K_Devil's_Canyon_40GHz_LGA_1150_Boxed_Processor
Its an Intel I7 4790K 1150LGA.
 
its only 289.00 but if you buy the processor you get a mobo at like 75%off. they are combo packages.
there is one here in Boston. I live out of this store.
 
my latest build with that intel I7 has 16 GB of RAM a 250 SSD. I built it for under 600 bucks.
now I know it sounds like im throwing money around like paper airplanes but this was a planned build for quite some time.
 
I have found buying more ram to be an actual band aid compared to upgrading the CPU.
don't get me wrong, more ram is always a plus. but if you are running 8 GB as of now, I don't see another 8 taking you to new heights as I would a new CPU with the same RAM (if possible).
 
I see people using 32Gb of ram and laugh. no offense to those people but I find an adequate amount of RAM and a good CPU is better than a mid grade CPU and a boat load of ram. 

Dammit chuckebaby, you would have to say that!!! Ha ha!!! Since I've retired money is a little tighter than it used to be! I know you're right (you always are).
My current i5 does fine with all but the largest of my projects. Could bumping my RAM up from 8 gigs to 16 gigs give me any noticeable improvement in performance for the time being. If so, I could put off the larger expense of a new i7 system until I can better afford it.

you could always check out the specs for your current motherboard, what cpu's it supports, maybe you can upgrade just the cpu to something that will give a noticeable and worthwhile performance improvement, and then with some of that money you saved on a complete new system get that extra ram as well ? just a thought

rodreb
Dammit chuckebaby, you would have to say that!!! Ha ha!!! Since I've retired money is a little tighter than it used to be! I know you're right (you always are).
My current i5 does fine with all but the largest of my projects. Could bumping my RAM up from 8 gigs to 16 gigs give me any noticeable improvement in performance for the time being. If so, I could put off the larger expense of a new i7 system until I can better afford it.

Check the RAM usage in the performance monitor and/or Task Manager to see if you are anywhere near 8GB.
Unless you are running several instances of Kontakt or some other sample based synths, I doubt you will even notice doubling the RAM.
+1 to the I7-4790K. Still the best bang for the buck. I built a 4790 PC for my friend's studio this summer and it rocks.

I have an i7 Quad overclocked to 4.4 with 16GB's of memory. It handles most jobs although with several instances of Kontact running such modules as Pro Horns or Pro Session Strings, I've seen memory get up to 12GB's. At this amount, things start getting a little sluggish in Sonar. I've been thinking more ram with these types of modules, would probably help relieve some of the system sluggishness. However for most projects, 16Gb's is more thatn enough. But yes I agree, an i7 with at least 8Gb's of ram would suffice most projects. Even if you use lots of Kontact modules, you can always freeze the synth once you've finished editing. 

If you're feeling the money crunch just buy some RAM, then start putting those pennies in the piggy bank for 6-12 months and buy today's latest and greatest for a couple hundred bucks cheaper.
 
But then if it's really stifling your creativity maybe it would be best to buy a new pc. 
 
Maybe you describe what exactly is not performing as desired and it could provide us with a little more insight. 

Just ran Task manager while having Sonar open and running.
On an average project - CPU = 40%     Memory = 30%
 
On a large project - CPU = 66%     Memory = 39%
 
bigfrog: On large projects everything just seems a bit sluggish compared to average sized projects. Not a game stopper. Just wondering what/if any difference adding RAM might make as opposed to upgrading my whole system.

Do you need to add more latency buffer for large project with 66% CPU compared to those with 40% ?
 
How about making a test project matching your usual tracks / plugins to about 80% or more CPU usage.. same latency or need to increase ? You will know if you need to handle such larger projects to decide CPU upgrade or not.