So, I've been using a Santa Rosa 2.2 MB for a few months and I love it but now that I've upgraded to Final Cut I find it a bit lacking in the video editing dept. I just picked up a refurb MBP from the Apple store which before I actually take out of the box wanted to get a couple opinions on. It's the first MBP that was C2D. The 2.16 from 2006. At 1299.00 it seemed like a great deal. My question is do you guys think this is actually a step backward due to the limitations of the chipset?(less ram, slower processor, slower front side bus, etc...) If I keep the Pro I'll need to sell the macbook to help cover the cost.

Also, if I do go ahead and make this transition I want to transfer my 250G HD from the Macbook to the MBP. I know the drive is physically compatible so there's no problem there but can I just transfer it without doing anything to the drive or do I need to transfer all the info to an external via SuperDuper and then wipe the drive before putting it in the MBP and then use migration assistant? I realize the the MBP will need to be upgraded to Leopard as well. I know these are a ton of questions but any and all opinions are welcome! I really don't want to take a step backward here but I'm assuming that the MBP would at least probably be a better choice for Final Cut, yes? Thanks!

If you are planning on upgrading to Leopard, you should keep everything on your old drive, do an erase and install of Leopard on the MBP, then transfer everything over using Migration Assistant. This will reduce any problems you might have with the Leopard installation. The MBP, while it has a slower processor, also has more available RAM, as well as a better graphics card. I would do my mown comparisons, if I were you, to check how FCP performs on each of the computers.

Thanks Edward. So, you're saying that even though the Macbook Pro can actually hold less ram (3 as opposed to 4gigs on the Macbook Santa Rosa) it can access more Ram because of the integrated video on the Macbook? Interesting... Also, a person on another forum said I can actually just put the Macbook HD in the MBP as is and the MBP will recognize it just fine, programs and all. Any experience or knowledge of this? Thanks for you help!

Ah, I didn't realize you were using an older MBP that only supports 3 GB of RAM. Without the full specs of both computers I couldn't say for sure, but I suspect that the MBP still has better graphics than the MB. You can just swap the drives if you want (although I haven't done it between two different models.) If you are planning on installing Leopard, install it first and then just transfer everything over to eliminate any problems with the installation.

Well, the MBP isn't even out of the box yet but I'm pretty confident that it'll have Tiger on it since that was the OS when this particular model came out. That being said, do you think that I could still just put the Macbook HD in as is since the OS sits on the hard drive anyway? It would be nice to just swap the drive in and voila instant Leopard upgrade with all my programs, files, etc...

Another misunderstanding, I thought you didn't have Leopard at all. In that case, then yes, you can just install the MB hard drive into the MBP.

Thanks again Edward. I'll try as you suggested and just install the MB HD into the MBP this weekend. I'll post back with the results!

Hard drive replacement in a macbook is a PITA...I've done it several times and dread it. Here's a second solution if you'd like to look at it:

http://www.wiebetech.com/products/notebookdrivedock.php