I run my BIAB, Real Band and Power Tracks on a home built desk top PC (Windows XP Pro) but it is now seven years old and very under powered. It certainly struggles when importing Real Tracks with BIAB version 2009. I do have a second desk top PC but I am considering buying a laptop so that I can practice along with my BIAB files anywhere in the house and am not tied down to my music room. I would also like to record my practice sessions at a friend’s house, for later analysis.
I have been looking at models with Pentium Dual Core processors, 4GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive and perhaps a 17” screen to make reading music easier whilst standing up playing. I appreciate that the MIDI side of things will not be as good as my Edirol SD-80 plays them on my desk top, but I will be using Real Tracks anyway.
I would probably buy an M-Audio Fast Track to record to the laptop via USB as recommended by Mac (9th April).
So my question is, what sort of laptop memory and power would you recommend please? I prefer to buy a machine with an eye to the future as far as forthcoming PG demands on such a system may require.

Richard (Stan's Fan)