MacBook Pro i5 2.8 16GB or i7 3.0Ghz 8GB RAM

[coffeencigs]

in the end i went for the i7, 8gb ram and 256 flash storage.
everything is running fine, right now i have a live set with 3 instances of reaktor, 2 instances of massive and a bunch of built in instruments and effects running in the background it peaks at 45 - 55% cpu and i think thats alright.

if i ever max it out ill let you know

[BoddAH]

Good choice.

8 GB RAM is plenty and more than enough 99% of the time. 16 GB would have been overkill.

A faster processor will literally make everything you do faster and you’re much more likely to max out your DSP meter than 8 motherfucking gigs of RAM producing a swell unless all you do is use huge sample libraries.

[Timbeaux]

in the end i went for the i7, 8gb ram and 256 flash storage.
everything is running fine, right now i have a live set with 3 instances of reaktor, 2 instances of massive and a bunch of built in instruments and effects running in the background it peaks at 45 - 55% cpu and i think thats alright.

if i ever max it out ill let you know

hmm, sounds for me like it it close to crackling and dropout. Lucky that you have choosen the i7 and not the i5.