If you have a dedicated graphics card, the i7 is better by far. If you want cheap and fast with graphics then get the A8.
The i7 is a 64 bit processor.
Yes, they function with the same processor.
Currently the i7 is the best processor you can get, if you have the money to spend on one I suggest that you do.
the i in i series processor stands for ITANIUM. so the full form of i7 is itanium7
Intel i7 processor
It depends on what you want to do. For the most part Intel is overall a better processor. Currently Intel Core i7-5960X is a best and fastest processor out there for the money.
I7 Processors use socket LGA775.
At this point it would be I7-3930K or I7-3960X.
No, the i7 is a very fast processor and even to keep up, you would need something like an AMD Phenom 8-core.
No
Depends on the processor.
Of course Core i7 860. It's 4-cores, 8-threads processor while Core 2 Duo is only 2-cores, 2-threads. Moreover i7 860 got 8mb of Intel smart cache memory.