Core i7 itself is a quad core proc with HT, so it doesnt make that much of a differences if any software or games are not optimized for it.

Doesnt make much of a difference i7 HT enabled and i5 non HT. The higher end model would compensate the HT performance drop with its higher speed/cache/qpi architecture.

They are basically the same, but QPI speeds are diff bro. Dont forget the Turbo Boost feature also as the max speed achievable differs between those i5 and i7.