Help me justify (or not justify) buying an i7 over an i5

I'm building a new PC next week, and I wanted to get some feedback on core i7 vs core i5.

I want this computer to be as future proof as possible (within reason). I've been looking at a comparison between two models to get an idea of what the differences are. Besides a very small performance increase, the only other benefit I see is hyperthreading. This PC will primarily be used as a gaming system. Other things it will be doing won't matter much at all on CPU speed (office stuff, programming, streaming media, etc)

Upon further research (4 years old, I realize) into hyperthreading, it seems that games just aren't taking advantage of it. If this is the case, do we foresee games down the road that will take advantage of it?

I'm hoping to have this computer last me a good 5+ years or so, maybe more depending on how poor I am at that time.

Anyways, feedback? Is there any other clear benefit of an i7 over an i5 that I have overlooked? Is hyperthreading something that I should be taking into account? Talk me into or out of buying an i7 please. The extra $100 or so for the i7 vs a comprable i5 isn't an issue.

I can tell you that I've been playing ARMA 3 a lot and regardless of what people are saying out there I can assure you that my i7 is showing activity on all "8" cores. I haven't checked anything else but this was brought up by a friend of mine while we were playing and we checked it out, we had a consistent load on all cores, virtual and physical. So there would certainly be a benefit to the i7 with HyperThreading. Depending on which models of processors you are comparing there is also significant increase in the on-chip cache in i7 models due to their emphasis on performance. I just about ordered parts for a X79 build with a 4960x but I decided to wait for the X99 with an 8 core for the same reason as you, future proofing. Now I do use my system for computation as well as games so it benefits me on that front but never the less if you can swing the cost you wont regret it.

If the extra $100 for the i7 is not an issue, I would rather spend some of it on better cooling for an i5 so you can OC higher and spend the rest on upgrading your GPU. I'm not a super serious gamer, but my i5 @ 4.5 seems to handle anything that I really put it up to.

Hyperthreading is not really worth it to me in games. I would rather spend the money elsewhere in my build. I don't feel like it will make or break a build shooting for a 5 year life. Core speed would.

Thanks for the feedback. It looks like I am leaning towards the i7. I'm a little intimidated about overclocking my CPU as I don't want it to fry itself and me having to try to explain to Intel how it fried without telling them I overclocked it (does overclocking void a warranty anymore?) My searches seem to imply that Intel has no way of telling of your CPU was overclocked unless there are obvious scorch marks or other telltale signs of a heat related malfunction. Overclocking intimidates me, so I most likely won't do it, especially if I buy a nice video card and everything is silky smooth anyway. Don't fix with isn't broken, if you know what I mean.

I plan on buying a beefy CPU cooler, so if I do decide to overclock in the future, it shouldn't be a problem. I'd LOVE to get a 4960x, but it looks like it is checking in at just over $1000 making it out of my price range. I can imagine the x99 would be much more out of my price range, but in your experience with i7s, it sounds like it might be the way to go as a slight performance increase and future proofing.

Does anyone else have an opinion about the i7s? A suggestion on what one to purchase? I am looking at a 4770K, price isn't too bad and it has Haswell chipset support. This should make it more future proof, am I right? Newer chipset, better future proofing?

I could be barking up the wrong tree here, it's been a looong time since I have built my own PC. Criticism is welcomed. My budget is $2000 max for everything. The only thing I have in mind for an near future upgrade is the RAM. I was going to purchase only two sticks of RAM so I can add two more in the near future when I get more spending money.

If you are not overclocking, then there really isn't a reason to spend the money on a high end CPU cooler. $20-$30 92mm or 120mm cooler will do just fine for keeping it cool and quiet when gaming.

I can understand being a bit intimidated with OCing. Every thread starts with the warning that you can damage components. If you are careful and understand what you are changing, it is not all that dangerous. However, it is your rig. Do what you want.

If you do want to go the i7 route, 4770k is a good choice. Unless you use applications that really benefit from quad channel memory or need the extra PCI Express lanes, paying the extra for the x79 (or x99 when it comes out) doesn't make much sense to me.