At full disclosure, I'm new to the boat electronics game. I spoke with a guy at Bass Pro Shop about a couple options, and he said that the 7Ti was just a "repackaged" Gen II version of the HDS model. I'm reading some negative feedback on the 7Ti and wanted to know if anyone had any good input. I was thinking about investing in a Elite 7ti and pairing it to a Motorguide Xi5 Sonar/GPS. Is it worth going with the HDS7 for double the $?

We have sold quite a few of the Elite 7 Ti units with both HDI and TotalScan transducers. This is a value package that gives you Wifi/CHIRP/Touchscreen and has basically the same internal GPS that the HDS series has. It will work with your MotorGuide Xi5. Unless you are planning on networking the bow unit to the helm to share sonar data/ Structure scan imaging etc, then I would save your $$$ and go with the Elite 7 Ti

I have been running the Simrad Go7 XSE wTotalscan for the last several weeks and it is also an excellent value for the money. (Basically the sister unit to the Elite 7 Ti)

Brian