quad core versus duo core for mostly MIDI work?

[Mungojeff]

I am considering the purchase of a new mac and see my choices as either convenience (MacBookPro), or features+pricepoint (imac 27" quad core). I currently run an older g4 laptop at home and an imac intel chip at work which does very well with what I throw at it. I'm seeing the future of what I do wrapped in virtual instruments and less and less audio recording. My question: is a relatively speedy duo core MBP going to be enough of a machine for two or three years? Also a sidebar question, does anyone think that the 17" MBP is worth getting because of the express card or will most of the hardware upgrades of the future work with either FW, USB, or SD?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

As far as using VIs, they are processor intensive, so the faster the machine and the bigger the HD (to hold all those cool sounds) the better. Not so sure the Express card is a serious consideration. FW 800 seems to be here for a while and USB, while not great for audio, will be around for a bit longer as well.

[Mungojeff]

Thanks for the reply. The express card question came out of seeing the UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop which is a product that can run plug in effects without taxing the cpu. But, of course the express card slot is only now in the 17" mbp so the ability comes at a price.
The 27" quad core iMac seems great (especially for the money), but I am coming to the conclusion that I really do need a laptop, so I'm thinking about the least expensive mbp with some extra RAM.

[newrigel]

You'll get what you pay for... You'll have to render the VI's to audio in order to BTD unless you use audio hijack or something like that... so, audio recording is still in the picture, just not in the sense of instrument tracking... but a fast hard drive is paramount either way you look @ it. The ONLY reason I'd have a laptop is for remote tracking... not for production but everyone's different.