Cheapest or most expensive macbook?

[Piplodocus]

I was thinking of buying the 17" 2.93GHz 6MB L2 cache MBP (with the 7200rpm 320GB drive and 4GB ram) to use as my main computer, but also to use on stage for doing music (with my FW soundcard). Now this new Macbook white has come out (2GHz processor with 2MB L2 cache, same FSB). I thought I could save some money and get that just for stage and a bit of general portable use, and put a 320GB 7200rpm drive in it, whilst keeping my desktop as my main machine. The MBP costs £2200, the MBW £829. Anyone got any benchmarks or thoughts? The MBP would obviously be nicer, but is over 2.5x the price. Will the MBP completely whoop it's ass for music production, or is this a lot of money for not that much more performance, and nicer features like screen/trackpad/Unibody/dual graphics?

It's either the cheapest or best here, middle ground is either underpowered/spec'ed for my main machine, or overpriced for it not being my main computer!

 

[dXTC]

Some thoughts from another musician...

Having that kind of raw power on stage indeed rocks. However, I'd worry more about theft, accidents and environmental hazards (knocked over by clumsy announcer/sound tech, beverage spill, heavy cigarette smoke, etc.), especially in smaller venues.

My suggestion: Keep your desktop as your main composition/studio machine, and get the white MacBook for live performance. Just mix a few instrument tracks down into one to conserve processor power, and you should be good to go. The new MBW should still have enough processor power for real-time control of a few virtual synths and effects, and won't be nearly so big a loss should the worst scenario occur.

 

[Demosthenes X]

Good point on falling/accidents in general. The plastic MacBooks are pretty robust, and don't dent like the aluminum ones do, and they're comparatively inexpensive if the worst does happen.

Upgrade to 4GB of RAM and you should be set.