An alternative to consider might be a small barebone system, where you can use a good and inexpensive PCI card like the M-Audio Delta 1010LT directly. You know, something like the MSI Hetis 915:
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/slim_pc/slm_index.php
Thanks Frank that's an excellent idea, especially as I was hoping to (later) upgrade my laptop. Just one question: how easy is it to set up Linux (specifically Fedora if possible) to automatically login, and load up Jack and PD, for when I leave the screen and keyboard at home during gigs? And how do you tell it to shutdown???
Cheers Stefan Turner
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