I get your point... You can still just buy a little battery operated amp for 30 dollars... It's your choice, I'm just trying to show you some other alleys so you don't end up spending a ton of money on something that you get limited use out of... Even if you get a labtop... you'll still need to change the sound card to accept a 1/4" instrument jack... also upgrade the soundcard to handle the load... and then you'd have to buy speakers to amplify the sound beyond the built in speakers................. that's a lot of money wasted in my eyes.