Hi everyone,   
I am replacing 7 year old desk top computer system with laptop to play out with.  I will need a laptop and external interface  $600 - $1200 range if possible.  Have noticed solid state hard drives, external sound cards, USB C technology, all new to me.  I would be a one man show for now with a new Taylor guitar and an old sure vocal mic.  Should I plug the electric guitar into the sound interface or mic it or both.  Also, may like to expand inputs for other possible players later.  (Beginner level guy)
 
Thanks!!  Ron

Check this discussion out...
 
Thoughts on Laptops as Primary
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3638470

Thanks !!  
I'm finding plenty of Laptops out there around $1,000 with 512 sold state hard drive, 2.7 processor, 16 GB memory, so question is:  Any problems with external SSD hard drive for 2nd drive?  
 

rocadani
 
Any problems with external SSD hard drive for 2nd drive?  

From what I understand, there is nothing to be gained using an expensive SSD as external drive.  SSD on internal SATA or M.2 makes more sense.  If you search around, you should be able to find a laptop with a 2nd internal drive bay, but probably not in the budget market.
 
Use a USB3 spinning drive for external storage.

Here's what I am considering, will I be okay with this? (No video work, amature recording at home)
 
(Specs Out of the box)  $539
 
Acer Aspire E75-G 562T Intel Core i5 7th Gen 7200U (2.50 GHz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M 8 GB DDR4 Memory drives 128 GB SSD, 1 TB HDD, Windows 10 Home, 1 x HDMI, 1X USB 3.1 Type-C, 2 x USB 3.0 (one with power off charging)
 
contemplated upgrades:  32GB memory $359.99 - (2) 525 GB SSDs $129.99 each or $259.98 = total $1158.97
 
(Upgrades bought online and installed by me with NO experience??)  ... also would migrate old version of Sonar X3 from my old tower and then upgrade to newest Sonar, no experience there either. 
 
Thanks for the previous comments and any advice certainly welcome.
 
Ron

Also...  would need to buy external interface for acoustic Taylor guitar, (new!) and vox mic. Would this arrangement be okay? 

The best way to do this is with a USB audio interface that has high Z inputs (so you can plug a guitar directly into the box). Many common cheap prosumer units will do what you want. The reason to mic the electric guitar amp is to record some unique quality of the amplifier itself, and it is done quite commonly for that purpose. But with the number of cheap "guitar amp" emulation plugins available, a lot of that quality can be reproduced in the box by feeding in a clean signal and processing it there.

edit: I pulled the trigger for an
HP - Spectre x360 2-in-1 15.6" 4K Ultra HD Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive.
Does Sonar X3 run as a multi thread or single thread? Could be an issue with the Spectre.

I see how to run multi thread.

Thanks for the replies!! This forum will be tough to replace down the road.

Ron

rocadani
edit: I pulled the trigger for an
HP - Spectre x360 2-in-1 15.6" 4K Ultra HD Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive.

Very nice! (Better than the other stuff you mentioned above.)