Lightroom 4 editing system

[Tessellatedmind]

Hi there!

I'm looking to upgrade my PC for better work with Lightroom 4 v4.3 and Lightroom 5, whenever it launches. I'm shooting only uncompressed 16-bit Nikon D700 RAW's. I'm not making a living out of photography, but it's my biggest passion and I'm looking to make an investment that would close this tech circle I'm into right now. I have an old system that can't keep up with Lightroom 4, to the point that it has become frustrating to edit.

My wishlist, looking to buy this winter/spring with a budget around $920 / 685 EUR:
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53570k

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz77d3h

HDD:
Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10earx

SSD:
OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/ocz-internal-hard-drive-vtx425sat3128g

PSU:
SeaSonic S12II 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii430b

I'm gonna be using parts from my old PC:
Case: Antec 300 with 2 front Scythe Slip Stream 1200RPM vents
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Loki SD963
HDD: Western Digital 320GB SATA-II with 7200rpm & 16MB buffer
Monitor: Dell U2412M
GPU: LeadTek GeForce PX9600GT


I was gonna go for an i7 3770 & and H77 Chipset Mobo at first. But after talking with some IT guys, it came to question whether I really need and i7, as I can go for the much cheaper i5 3570k, overclock it and save some money. So I found a good Z77 MoBo with 4 Sata III's, but the build ended up at aprox. the same cost. Well let's say that I've invested in a better SSD (I wanted the 128GB Samsung 840, but I wasn't convinced to buy it) and spare SATA III's for future storage solutions.
Some say that hyper-threading in the i7 makes a real difference, but there are others who claim that Lightroom wants bigger clock speeds, not cores. I've also been told that unless I need some heavy-duty rendering or video work done, I'll be just fine with the i5.

I'm curious to see if there's a myth here that needs debunking. So does anyone know how much bang for the buck can the i7 deliver vs. the i5 3570k in Lightroom 4?

Any other advice on my build is welcome

Much appreciated!

 

[AMD Radeon]

for additional 100 usd, it is not worths the price unless u make money a lot bigger than your pc budget

there are some parts to improve for more performance booost than i5 to i7
SSD
nvidia card (with minimum 1Gb ddr5, not dd3 as 9600GT)

 

[Tessellatedmind]

Thanks! Yes that's how I thought about it too. Id' rather put that $100 in a better SSD.