Notebook or Desktop????

Well is your equipment external to the sound card? (USB/Firewire?) If so then the desktop or notebook will not make a huge difference (in latency).

 

You will definatly want a notebook if you have to bring files that are on your computer to jobs. It is not entirely true that you can do more stuff with a desktop instead of a notebook. Each has it's pro's and con's. I would say if your looking for something with power and that will last you a good 4 or 5, possible six years get a Powerbook. 15" or 17" because your going to want a 1.5 processor. That will be all the power you need for music.

 

So if you'll definitely need a notebook to do parties, like you stated, then what's the problem? Get a notebook over a desktop.

If you're looking for a suggestion as to what notebook to get, I say get the 15" 1.5GHz Powerbook. Actually, get the 17" model, since the price difference over the 15" isn't much when comparing the 1.5GHz model of the 15". The 17" isn't THAT big and still means you're portable, and yet it acts as a desktop replacement for sure. It also has much better battery life than the 15" despite being the bigger system. Make sure to upgrade the RAM to 512MB of RAM on only 1-SODIMM (ie: 1 slot) instead of on 2 SODIMM, which frees up one of the two RAM slots in your Powerbook to get a 512MB stick of RAM from Crucial.com. Also get the faster 5400 rpm HDD. The best upgrade you can get for the money.

 

Powerbook!

Yea, you definitely want a notebook, preferrably a powerbook, as it seems more suited to your needs. The 17" powerbook would give you a big enough screen to get all your DJ software on the screen (whatever it is you use), and has the power of a mid-range Apple desktop. Plus, when you get home you can just plop it down, plug in your DVI connecter dongle thing, and enjoy a semi-desktop experience.