After my 5th major hardware failure in 30 months, Apple Canada has agreed to replace my 17”, 2.33 GHz MacBook Pro and I would greatly appreciate some advise on several things. I have been shooting documentaries and promotional pieces in HD for non-profits/NGO’s and editing with FCS2 for the past 3 years, but I am considering upgrading to Studio 3 to take advantage of the new features in FCP 7. Here are my questions:

1) My dealer has repaired my old laptop yet again under warranty and it’s still useable for the foreseeable future. Does anyone know if there are major improvements or new models on the horizon within the next 5 months before my Apple Care replacement offer expires? If so, what specifically would be worth waiting for?

2) If I do decide to replace it immediately, what factory upgrades from Apple would anyone recommend (I will be paying for anything above the base model)? I am already committed to at least the non-glare screen and faster 7200 rpm serial hard drive. I also anticipate buying additional after-market RAM if that seems advisable. Should I move up to the 3.06 GHz processor?

I've truly appreciated learning from so many on this ‘Best in the World’ forum over the years and would welcome your suggestions.

Cheers,

Michael Lafleur

Maybe this thread will answer your questions:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/non-linear-editing-mac/271129-unibody-macbook-pro-review-part-deux.html

Robert, thanks for the reply and thread link to your very helpful review!

I notice that it was the base model, 2.88 GHz processor configuration being reviewed and it seemed to be more than acceptable. As I understand it, most of the improved performance has to do with the bigger RAM-bus pipeline among other things.

Do you think there is any real merit in upgrading to the 3.06 GHz in my new machine (i.e. will it speed up even more the rendering and compressing functions that seem to take forever with my old laptop – an early 2007 2.33 GHz model with just 2 GB of slower RAM)?

I suppose my other key question is whether anyone knows if there are any major model revisions on the horizon for the 17” MacBook Pros in the next couple of months. I’ve been keeping an eye on various forums such as Macrumors and haven't see any relevant prognostications.

If not, would you recommend that I wait even a few more weeks until Snow Leopard is released? As mentioned in my earlier post, I am in the process of buying FCS 3. I remember reading elsewhere on the forum that once appropriate updates are provided, it should be able to take advantage of emerging 64 bit architecture.

I would appreciate anyone’s suggestions or ‘best guesses’.

With Appreciation,

Michael Lafleur

Nobody outside of Apple's walls knows exactly what they'll do or not do, it's always 100% speculation and often the guessing game has been way off, so there's no way to offer any "educated guesses" as to what Apple will or won't offer in newer MBP models.

With respect to the faster CPU speed, although technically it will process data and work faster it's not a speed increase you can see with any tangible results. A Mac Pro tower *might* produce noticeable results but even then it's not night-and-day different. I would save the extra $300 and use it towards paying for FCS3 or other accessories/apps.

Good advise again, Robert.

Do you think that the rumors about Snow Leopard's release on/around Aug 28th are as unreliable as guessing about future model revisions? Might it be worth waiting a couple of weeks to find out as it would save the OS upgrade cost later? All of this assumes Snow Leopard with play nicely with FCS 3.

And on your other “Unibody Macbook Pro Review” thread, you mentioned that some/most of the increased performance is due to the ExpressCard 34 slot interface. Since I have never used this before, what do I need in the way of cables or cards or anything else to utilize this feature on the 17” model?