I seem to be getting the same symptoms as everyone else. I have the following setup:
MacBook Pro 2.66GHz Intel Core i7
8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
500GB @ 5400 rpm
I think I've had my Mac for about 3 weeks already. As soon as I started the computer I tried viewing a YouTube video and the first freeze occurred, out of the box mind you. I didn't think much of it, although I was kind of concerned since I literally just began using it and it started to stall for about 20 seconds. I thought that maybe it was a Flash issue somehow, since I've had minor freeze ups on certain Flash enabled pages before with other Macs.
I would continue to get these stalls daily and wondered if it was my extra ram added that could cause it to freeze up. The only reason I thought it might be the ram was because I had added ram to my previous MacBook Pro Intel Core Duo and never got the speed bump expected when I installed it. (I added it after I had received my computer). Because of that, I thought I was experiencing a potential ram issue.
I also thought that Snow Leopard could be the issue and found this post:
http://appletoolbox.com/2010/04/the-simplest-most-effective-fix-for-mac-os-x-10- 6-3-freezes-startup-issues/
However, the install CD that came with my Mac is 10.6.3, the very version that may be the issue here. So I borrowed an original copy of Snow Leopard from my friend, but my Mac doesn't seem to accept it. Nothing works, holding C with the disc inserted at startup doesn't work. All I get is the Apple chime with the gray screen and the Apple logo, no activity at all. I also tried going to the system preferences startup disk pane and choosing the CD to boot when restarting, but that didn't work with the same mentioned result as said before. I'm curious if anyone has successfully tried downgrading from 10.6.3 with the new Core i7's particularly. If so, please post your results.
Now the 20 second stalls are occurring more frequently about a dozen times daily depending on my use of the computer. Besides trying to downgrade the current version of Snow Leopard, I have no clue what could be the issue. My computer is brand new so a hardware issue is probably unlikely (although freak accidents occur). This issue is beyond my capabilities. I guess I'll be taking my brand new MacBook Pro to the Apple store. This has been a horrible experience to say the least.