Rikki, it might be worth a try to operate your new laptop with just one processor. I don't know enough about Dell's laptop as to how to do this but a call to them should do it. Your onboard soundcard will be designed to work with dual processors whereas forte and ASIO4All are not. This will all change in the future as the software catches up to the hardware features. I don't think the slower speed of your CPU should be a factor. It will be a factor in decreasing the number of high quality instruments you can load and play.

Rikki you are just moving to fast.