the new doubleduo2duett MBPs are faster...i have not noticed any real difference between the 2.16 duo and the 2.33duo2 in terms of capturing speed, but never had a problem with either one....i use the standart 15ft phase FW cable, no repeater, hub and i am usually battery powered....if i have power i might as well use a desktop anyway....MBPs have the little knows ability to swap their batteries without shutting down...now if someone would make a charging station for the batteries....
the newest duobleduo2 MBPs take 3gb of ram, so that should make a difference....processing speed on the newest ones is noticeably faster, CS2 is almost 30-50% faster (i guess because of rosetta?)....like i said in my earlier post, maxing the latest MBPs out with a second internal HD and the 3gb ram should make things even faster, but i would be surprised if it would make the capture speed really faster....C1 v4 will probably make a difference combined with the + backs....FW800 on the backs would be a wise idea....
i have had 4or5 G4 PBs and i am on my 3rd MBP and i have never had any FW issues of any kind with phase backs...some with valeo, none with phase and C1....
always make sure you have the latest C1 and always wait for a week to update to the latest apple OS...but make sure that gets updated as well....the jump from 10.4.7 to 10.4.8 made CS2 30% faster....