Right, I'm going to get a laptop so I can do location recording. Just got a few questions on what spec I might need.

Say I wanted to record 8 simultaneous inputs. That's a lot of data throughput.
- Does this mean I should definitely go firewire? or is usb2 capable of handling this?
- Also should I pay particular attention to hard disk speed? If so what kind of speed might I need?
- Would it be possible to do this kind of recording direct to a usb hard drive?

I was looking at getting a 2gig ram and 1.7-2gig processor.
- That sounds like it would handle ok, right?
- Is dual core processor a benefit in recording situations?
- Would I need a certain amount of cache?
- Is there any difference between intel & amd boards for what I'm doing?

I've not yet decided what audio interface to get. I'll probably be running cubase, or maybe protools if I get an interface that includes it. I'mm probably go with windows, cos that's what I'm used to. Is there an o/s best for this application? I kep reading confilicting reports on this subject.

Thanks in advance for your input.

I'm having trouble finding information about what firewire chipsets laptops have on board, even when I contact the company. Git any tips on where I can find info on what products need what chipsets and whose laptops provide this?

Also I just had a look at the digidesign mbox requirements and it says it needs a 6 pin firewire connection, but most laptops I've seen look like they've just got 4 pin. Is this right? Would I be better off just getting a separate firewire interface (eg a cardbus interface) and would this give the same stability & data transfer?