I'd go with the i7, if not for current games, then for the sake of future games (actually, I went with the I7, bought it a few days ago).
There is no warranty seal, but with a few of my friend experiences and a few I read on the forum, maybe leave the HDD inside and add an SSD (either in the m.2 slot or instead of the optical drive). That is what I did, because two of my friends with last generation G7s and the HDD (in one) and the SSD (in the other) on the main sata connector died, and I also saw a post here from a guy who is having problems with aftermarket ssd in his laptop, so I chose to add the ssd to the extra slot, just in case it is a series problem with the motherboard to disk connection, and not the disk itself.
And if something goes wrong and you have to send it back for repairs, you just take out your SSD. Also, if you're gonna buy it in a store somewhere near instead of online, ask if they can put in the ssd instead of you doing it, without breaching the warranty conditions, I don't know if that is a usual practice in most of the stores, but I got that offer from a store I usually buy my equipment from.