I am starting to consider my options for a computer upgrade whether I build or buy is yet to be seen.   Is there a benefit to spending the extra money for an I7 processor over the I5.  I thought I read somewhere that there were certain features in the I7 in regard to using the cores or hyper threading that made it perform better.
 
Thanks,
Terry

Not sure if hyper threading works with X3, but I can test this for you tomorrow if I remember to do so.

4partmusic - if you can't afford it, you can't.  But a rule of thumb is if you stretch your budget and getting something that has more power you will lessen the likelihood of being frustrated in the future from lack of power.
 
In other words, go for the I7 if you can.  You won't regret it.

if you're serious about a DAW buy the fastest i7 you can afford... upgraded from i7950 I built 3 years ago to i74930...world of difference. Best money I ever spent.
 
Of course, if you updated/made a sig it would help us know what you're trying to use...
 
 
 

It's all about processor speed. Buy the fastest processor you can afford. You'll see that the fastest ones will be the i7 series. Of course RAM will matter also but that's fairly cheap these days. I'm certain many will chime in here with great advice!

EDIT: vastman took the words right out of my mouth!

I have a second generation i3 and it works fine for my simple recordings. I'm surprised by how well it's worked out for me. I've had this Dell computer for almost two years now and it's been great. I bought the cheaper i3 computer because my budget was tight. No problems to report.

I have an I7 980 that can clock up to 4.5 Ghz, but I leave it at 3.4 Ghz undervolted to stop my room from turning into an oven, and it doesn't struggle with anything. This also let me remove several fans from my case to reduce noise, and can remove another three as well but I cant be asked to do so yet.

And that's like a 5 year old processor now that still doesn't struggle with anything while running at stock speed, pretty amazing thing and the longest lasting CPU I've owned.

To summarize, it really depends on what you want to be doing. For a more serious effort, running more softsynths and fx and expecting to run the latest software and plugins comfortably, go with the i7. I believe the 47xx and 49xx series are currently hitting the sweet spot of affordability vs performance.
 
If this is more of a "let's keep the costs under control" hobby for you, an i5 will still let you run a bunch of synths/tracks/fx without much trouble. It's still more capable in most respects than the Q6600 I used until a year ago.
 
Get a good soundcard/interface, if you don't have one yet.
 

FromXP32bit on a dualcore to Win7 64bit on an i7 2600. I'd suggest the most powerful you can afford as the 64bit architecture demands it.
The third best CPU is usually the best price/value point. What is the third best i7 now? Or is is an i5?
You want to get at least three years from it before you upgrade again.

I was bummed when my 950 motherboard took a hike... but today's power hungry Diva's and the like were really causing lots of playability issues.  The new haswells are pretty reasonable but I decided to future proof a bit and go for the 4930...and it's smooth as silk.  
 
Really does depend on what ur gonna be throwing at your DAW...and ur budget... personally it was well worth the money. But only you know where you're at/doing and you haven't told us much if anything since ur original posting...
 
I've periodically used my aging i5 msi laptop with 6 gigs ram to play around and teach my 13 year old daughter who now uses it with an old NI AudioKontrol 1.  She's made lots of cool stuff with it.  However, it won't play anything I'm working on these days...