Given that GP doesn’t run on an iPad, and some of my virtual instruments also don’t run on an iPad, I am continuing to rack my brain about how to make a very efficient fly rig as a guitar player. Right now I’m running on a M2 Mac Mini, which will take a bunch of work to make portable, and the various moving parts make me nervous. Form factor wise on a tablet style stand with a set of Midi foot switches and an interface could do it for me. I have a Surface Laptop Studio as a work machine; however, I don’t use it for music, and rarely use it in tablet mode (and for work reasons, I want to keep my personal stuff off that machine as much as possible). I’ve taken a look at the Minisforum v3, but I’m nervous about them as a company, and I feel more confident in the Microsoft product. I realize that Microsoft stuff is expensive, but the simplicity of the set up is attractive to me.
Would love feedback on this.
Some people are happy withe expensive Surface Pro, I personally use a Geekom mini-PC with an inexpensive touchscreen. The mini-PC is installed in a small 19’’ flightcase and I only have the touchscreen with me.
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What screen are you using? A possible option for me is to just use my Mac mini with a touchscreen. I would consider even getting the new M4 Mini which is tiny. This would all be much cheaper than the Surface 
I use a Wimaxit 14’’ touchscreen bought on Amazon.
I use a Surface Pro 9 for GP. It has a 2 TB ssd divided into 3 partitions. Two are identical installations of Win 11 and the 3rd is a data partition where all the GP files are stored. The machine has 32gig of ram, and all three portions are backed up using Macrium.
I use an iPad Pro running OnSong for midi control, and this is linked to the Surface Pro 9 using adapters and an Ethernet cable. I also use Bome Network on both devices to facilitate the connection. I considered a mini PC briefly, but the fact is that the SP line are inclusive i.e. the screen is attached, and I can clip it to a mic stand for a quick setup using a Hercules iPad/iPhone holder. Expensive yes, but it suits me.
@bigalminal Alan, we’ve communicated before…As I mentioned I have a Surface Laptop Studio, which is my day-to-day machine and it’s great except for battery life. In my case I would need a less complex set up, just the Surface plus an interface + and perhaps a midi footswitch…What are you using for amplification? and how much tweaking did you do to Windows?
Hi Bud! Sorry, I didn’t make the connection My PA is an HK 608i. It has a built in mixer controlled by an iPad over BT. It is very versatile and can run in mono with a single screw in pole with built in connections, or as a stereo PA with the satelites separated and on individual poles. The specs say good for up to 200 people. I have busked with it outdoors cranked up, and it is very loud. The satelites are stored in the back of the unit for carrying. I also have a wheeled case for way transport. All up weight is 16kg.
I forgot about the Windows tweaking you asked about. I went through the optimization guide and then deleted everything not needed for music. Hence the two Windows partitions - one for gigging and programming and the other for general stuff but also a backup if needed having the same GP setup as the second partition.