Mac Guy has Windows 7 Questions

[CME]

Okay sorry if you have been over this 1000 times already. I've been trying to sift through the info here but still have some questions. The situation is I have a MacBook Pro running PTLE just fine. Not trying to start a Mac/PC debate, but I have had a lot of success for several years on the Mac side. Think I started at PTLE 6.4 with a home built pc before switching. However a cousin of mine really wants to buy my MacBook from me. For what he is willing to give me + a little of my own money I can get either a HP DV7T Quad Edition or a Sony Vaio VPC-F113FX. So I'm thinking of switching back. Both are i7 quad-core hyperthreading laptops with Windows 7. Looks like either would have way more horse-power than my current C2D mac. I like both laptops but am kinda leaning towards the HP because I can get it with a second internal HD. So my questions are...

Does anyone have any experience with either of these laptops?

I know W7 is new and isn't gonna be trouble free (unless I get really lucky), but how much trouble has W7 been? I know these forums can make it look like no one is getting it to work when really it's like maybe 3% of the people that actually have major issues.

I'm wanting to set this up to be my "portable" rig. However it will be my main rig for a while. At least until I get the funds to buy/build something different. Is there anything I'm overlooking/forgetting about?

One last thing is that I do this mainly as hobby work. But did recently record my dad's band and I think they want to do some more for them. They have also mentioned my work to some others and may get a few little gigs out of this. So I'd like to get something relatively stable working asap.Thanks again for your help and any suggestions anyone may have.

Matt

[cwsand]

I think there are a lot of issues to be worked out before LE can be considered stable in Windows 7. I've had some success with it but more headache than it's worth. Some people are having better luck than others. My I7 is awesome with LE in XP though. My advice - either wait for a stable driver for Windows 7 or see if you can install XP on the laptop. Or of course, go with the Mac.

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by cwsand

I think there are a lot of issues to be worked out before LE can be considered stable in Windows 7. I've had some success with it but more headache than it's worth. Some people are having better luck than others. My I7 is awesome with LE in XP though. My advice - either wait for a stable driver for Windows 7 or see if you can install XP on the laptop. Or of course, go with the Mac.

I agree, I have a relatively stable 64 bit W7 system but I don't rely on it. The XP system is always only a bios change away and I would not suggest anyone rely on 64bit for anything serious.

[CME]

Thanks for the info so far. Looks like I'd have to wait a bit for a stable system. Part of me thinks it would def be worth it. FWIW I am waiting to see what, if any, updates Apple unveils tomorrow.

BTW I would definitely buy a copy of XP and dual boot if that would make life easier for now. How difficult would it be to install XP on a system like this? I'm fairly confident in my tweaking abilities, and the cousin buying my mac is the head tech at a local hospital. So he's my go to guy when I get stumped. I'm willing to bet we could get it sorted. Just wanna know if I need to cut him a better deal for the help he's gonna have to supply. lol

[JayNocturn]

hi, windows 7 itself is awesome. I have a DV8 core i7 4gb of ram win 7 64 bit. Everything is fast and stable and just works (except for PT ). Considering how fast it is now, I cant wait to see load times and program start times after I put http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....:X:RTQ:AU:1123 in it for readyboost ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadyBoost ) .

As for PT, I get cracking during playback on my 11 rack based system. But I have seen lots of ppl that have got PT LE working too. So maybe its best to wait.