last moments.. MB/2ghz or MBP?!!

[jefvTaon]

i'm still hung up on a couple things...
i find it hard to get the MBP just because it has the expresscard slot.
i will have to use an external HD. is using usb2 like not good? how do they compare?

and will the internal 5400rpm vs. 7200 be noticible?
and cant i just put a 7200rpm internal HD in the MB? or cant that be done? and what is this SATA? do i gotta get one of these to insure the lowest possible latancy?
in the end, cant i just get a splitter or something that will get me another firewire?

i would be ok with the MB if it wont have more latancy...

any answers to my beginners questions would be greatly appreciated,
jeff

[Frodo]

i'm still hung up on a couple things...
i find it hard to get the MBP just because it has the expresscard slot.

Do you have a need to use the Express Card? Do you have a reason *not* to use the Express Card?

i will have to use an external HD. is using usb2 like not good? how do they compare?

I wouldn't recommend USB2 for serious streaming. I would consider a FW800 drive first, then perhaps FW400. The performance is simply better.

and will the internal 5400rpm vs. 7200 be noticible?
and cant i just put a 7200rpm internal HD in the MB? or cant that be done? and what is this SATA? do i gotta get one of these to insure the lowest possible latancy?

I would sooner recommend just making the external drive 7200 RPRM and not try to run audio and OSX from the same drive. 5200 RPM internal may be okay, but a 7200 internal will speed things along nicely.

If you decide to go with a 5200 internal drive, I would strongly recommend getting the FW800 external. Not only will the 800 outperform the 400, but putting any streaming audio on a separate bus is a good idea if you are going to use an FW400 audio interface.

in the end, cant i just get a splitter or something that will get me another firewire?

External drives can be linked by a simple cable.

i would be ok with the MB if it wont have more latancy...

any answers to my beginners questions would be greatly appreciated,
jeff

Latency? That depends heavily on how much you are asking of your MBP. Fortunately, the new laptops are performing quite well.

But you will also want to watch for plugin comptibility in the early stages. All apps will have to be Universal Binary, so make sure that everything you want to use on your MBP is available in UB format.

My advice to those in the market for another mac right now is to get into the MBP's at this point. Software will be better optimized over the coming year for the Intel format, and the Intels are already showing better performance.

[KarlSutton]

just to add to what Frodo said, the only MBP that has FW800 is the 17" model

[Frodo]

just to add to what Frodo said, the only MBP that has FW800 is the 17" model

Righty-oh! If you're using DP on a laptop, visual real estate is essential. I still use my G4 PB 17" and can't imagine using a 15-incher and DP.

[baanes]

Well, from my perspective I've got a 15" PB and have plenty of screen room most of the time. IMO the portability difference between the 15 and 17 is worth it. Mine is the later high-res model, which helps (the MBPs have about the same resolution). I think I would have a hard time with anything smaller, though.

Unless you're heavily multitracking a FW400 external drive would probably be fine. You can daisy-chain firewire devices, most of the time an interface and a hard drive isn't a problem. You'd have to get an expresscard to use external SATA, I don't think its worth it unless you really need it. If I were you I would get a 5400 internal and a 7200 external. You can still record at least 4 tracks to the internal (even though it isn't recommended, I've done it with no problems, and sweetwater did a motu test a while back in which they got really high track counts even with the internal drives).

[WSVP]

You can daisy-chain firewire devices, most of the time an interface and a hard drive isn't a problem. You'd have to get an expresscard to use external SATA, I don't think its worth it unless you really need it. If I were you I would get a 5400 internal and a 7200 external.

I wouldn't bet on this, there are some interfaces that work ok (I think this is related to bus mastering) on the same firewire bus as a FW hard drive, but many don't. A lot will depend on how demanding your sessions are. I would personally "not" recommend sharing one Firewire bus with both Interface and HD, particularly if any of them draw their power from the FW bus. You might find better performance using the internal drive or USB2 drive rather than a FW drive that shares the bus with the interface. Also beware, Apple has a habit of sharing there FW 800 & FW 400 as one bus, I am not sure if this is the case with the Intel Macs but I have a feeling it is.

I also agree with Frodo about USB2. Even though USB2 has a slightly higher bandwidth than Firewire 400, it generally is outperformed by Firewire 400 in high data rate applications. However USB2 drives can sometimes be the only choice if your FW interface will not share the port.

A safe bet is to get an external HD that supports both Firewire & USB2 that way you have more flexibility if you run into a problem.