As some of you may recall, I’ve been going through a computer upgrade dilemma all summer, trying to decide whether to go with another 17″ laptop or an all-in-one 23″ desktop. That question has been decided – I’m definitely going with another laptop. But now another techy-geek dilemma has reared its baffling head… which processor should I get?

Behold two lovely laptops by HP. Both have 17.3″ screens, 12 GB Ram, 1 T memory as well as other similarities. The only difference is that the one above has the new Intel Core i7 processor and the one below has an i5. Oh, and the one above costs 300€ more.

My question is… is the i7 processor worth spending an extra 300€? I mean, I almost hope it is because the Envy above is way prettier than the Pavilion below, but I also don’t want to spend an extra 300€ just for a pretty exterior.

Help? If it matters, I do use my laptop every day for many hours, so speed is important. Also, I do a lot of photo editing and hope to be getting into video editing soon. The other thing is that if I don’t decide which one to purchase by Saturday then I’ll have to wait until another special offer comes along. Right now Fnac is offering a 20% discount.