I'll offer my experience up, if it helps anyone in their quest. YMMV. I play in a 10 piece Pink Floyd cover band. I need a rig that allows me to create a fairly wide variety of sounds. I'm also trying to minimize the size/amount of gear I haul, and finally, help the sound guy by not requiring more than one channel in the PA.
Interface - Roland QuadCapture running at 48khz (reported latency ~4ms, have not taken time to measure roundtrip because I have no glitches and it feels 'right')
Computer - HP M6-1045dx specs here Running Windows 8 64bit
VST Host Software - Cantabile Performer
Other VSTs used - Distorque Vitamin C (compressor) & FaceBender (fuzz) : TSE 808 2.0 : KjaerhusAudio The Classic Delay
Midi pedal - Roland FC-300 MKII
Tuner - Peterson Strobosoft (standalone, not VST)
Onstage Monitoring - Roland KC-300 Keyboard Amp
I ran my guitar into the hi-z input in the Quad Capture and the mic into QC's right channel (eliminating the need to bring a mixer). Cantabile handles routing and sub-mixes all to mono. One side of the QC out goes to a DI and splits off in parallel to the KC-300. I can adjust stage vol. on the KC without effecting the signal to the house. The whole rig performed admirably. I had no issues (other than one of my own stupidity at rehearsal, didn't plug in the laptop and the battery died 3 hrs in).
Having to rely upon a VST host complicates things a lot. I tried about 6 different hosts and ended up with Cantabile because of it's routing/mixing/switching flexibility and really stellar performance. Cantabile has never glitched. I also liked Live Professor, but it would periodically glitch and I could never discover why.
It's amazing that this is even possible on a modest spec laptop. It's really a testament to Mike's work on S-Gear.

Thanks for posting your experiences glendo. I can understand the mono signal path being more practical in this situation. I suppose it depends on the venue to some extent, as to whether you could get make the stereo guitar work. I've heard some great stereo guitar rigs in smaller venues.
Cheers,
Mike.

glendo wrote:
Having to rely upon a VST host complicates things a lot. I tried about 6 different hosts and ended up with Cantabile because of it's routing/mixing/switching flexibility and really stellar performance. Cantabile has never glitched.

Do you need to run some VSTs to get your sounds?
I use S-Gear in standalone mode Live and it offers almost everything I need.
I run it through a mixer where I route a compressor, an octave and a wah-wah plus I'm constantly feeding a tuner with the guitar's signal in parallel.
The day Mike will add those 'lowly' effects inside S-Gear, I'll be only using the Cry Baby between the guitar and the audio/midi usb card.
HTH,

mike wrote:
. I can understand the mono signal path being more practical in this situation. I suppose it depends on the venue to some extent, as to whether you could get make the stereo guitar work. I've heard some great stereo guitar rigs in smaller venues.
Cheers,
Mike.

Thanks Mike,
I absolutely prefer stereo. If I can confess.. it is a bit of a sickness with me I'll continue to work with our sound guy (who is really flexible) and see if I can make the stereo thing work as the opportunities arise (many times we just don't have enough channels). This is a fun adventure.
Glen

LtKojak wrote:
Do you need to run some VSTs to get your sounds?
I use S-Gear in standalone mode Live and it offers almost everything I need.
HTH,

Ah, we are kindred spirits. S-Gear stand alone is ever so close. In this particular band I have tunes that require tap-tempo delays. I would love to use the Delay thing for this. Also in having to emulate specific tones, I need some stomp boxes. I am trying to avoid anything on the floor, other than a midi-switcher. If I have to bring my analog pedal board, my feeling is I may as well bring an amp as well. S-Gear standalone is really close. Add tempo sync, tap tempo, and external VST insert capability and it is my desert island solution. For now, it is the glorious sounding cornerstone of my parted-together solution.