MacBook Pro - My first day

Question

Ok, I recieved my MacBook Pro (the stock 2.0 with maxed out ram) and took it out for a spin. OK, these results are far from benchmark-like, but will still give you a taste as of what to expect from the machine. Here's what I did:
Took it out of the box, did the basic initial configuration (account setup, etc...) updated the whole thing with software update, installed all 5 Jam packs (don't laugh, they really are usefull!), installed LP 7.2, imported my key commands, settings (channel strip and instrument), templates and exs library, then installed the MOTU (828mkII and express128) drivers. I repaired permissions and rebooted a couple of times along the way, just to make sure... First thing I was anxious to know: was it gonna load songs started in 7.0/7.1/7.2 songs on my dual 2.3PPC??? I am lucky enough to have a couple of projects that were done before I installed any 3rd party stuff on my G5, so I loaded that Canadian Idol song I did (a bunch of you guys heard it http://homepage.mac.com/fredstgelais/Music/FileSharing14.html) and not only did it load up and play without a glitch, but I was able to mess with it, add a few (bad) guitar parts, edit a bunck of things, change the mix, add and remove plug-ins, then transfer it back to the G5, and continue to work in a 100% transparent way. I couldn't even do that on my PC desktop and laptop running the same version of nuendo without always having weird surprises (missing files, missing plug-ins, wrong settings on some plug-ins, audio routing mismatch, ect) Even swapping projects between my iBook G4 and G5 often caused similar problems (admittedly to a lesser extent). Performance-wise it is really hard to tell wich is better. First because the project doesn't max out either machine. It has 35 mono audio tracks, 39 "bread and butter" plugs (comps, EQs, delays, filters, etc...) 7 guitar amp pros, 2 space designers and 11 audio instruments (exs's, es2's, etc...). On same setting (buffer 256), the cpu meters go slightly higher on the laptop, but the G5 starts being a bit sluggish at buffer 128, crapping out at 64, while the MacBook Pro behaves perfectly and plays without a glitch even at 64. I even went and added a couple of guitars with guitar amp pro at 64 without any pops and clicks. Great news for those who hate latency (who doesn't)!! Anyway, I still have tests to do, but so far, I'm extremely impressed!!! Anyone else with results??
-Fred

Answer 1

That's why I did't get the 7200 HD and 2.16 processor. A friend at Apple advised me against it because of the heat issue. Mine (5400 HD and 2.0) really doesn't get much hottter than my G4 iBook. it is also a lot quieter because the fan doesn't have to kick in often (it actually didn't kick in yet, in two days of use) to cool off the faster HD. It actually didn't kick in yet, in two days of use. Definately something to consider if you are gonna record vocals and guitars right next to the computer. I say, go for the Stock 2.0GHz-5400RPM model. Just make sure you max out the RAM... I figured the difference in performance would only mean I'd have to freeze the 10th instance of sculpture instead of the 12th... Plus, most of us use an external HD for serious work anyway...
-Fred