[Cap]

My first digital DJ road show unit was a SONY VAIO PVL-600 (in 1999) followed immediately with a SONY VAIO PVL-620 (600 did not have Firewire). That unit (P3 600mhz 512mb RAM 80gb HD, internal SB Live-Value and a GigaPort-AG USB external sound card is still kicking butt with NO failures, stutters or glitches.

Digital Music is not a processor demanding technology until software video and lighting programs are added to the equation. Use your road show computer for your road show ONLY. No games, no superfluous software, no need to update the operating system per se, just bare bones software.

My on site road show computer is a SONY VAIO PCG-GRX560. P4-M, 1.6ghz, 512mb RAM, 80gb-5400rpm HD, 16.1" screen (comparable to a 17" desk top monitor), CD-R/W/DVD, GigaPort-AG USB external sound card, and an IEEE1394 external 120gb HD duplicate of the entire music library that resides internally on the lap top. I only have about 15,000 160 & 192 mp3's, every one remastered, one at a time.

I bring three (yes, 3) identical GRX560 laptops. Absolute clones. Backup for the backup. Small price to pay for my peace of mind.

Swapping laptops is fast and easy (haven't had to do it in real time but I practiced it anyway) using a PCGRX1 port replicator. In that manner, the power, the USB connections, and other connections, are permanent. Slide open the laptop's bottom port replicator cover, snap it in, push the on button, boot-up, and go. I have an identical replicator in my office connected to my internal network for fast and easy updates.