This is a long thread and I haven't managed to read all of it. If you are looking to replace the controller with a BeagleBone, probably the easiest way is to use a Replicape:
http://www.thing-printer.com/product/replicape/
The big advantages of the BeagleBone over the Raspberry Pi are the integrated fast microcontrollers that can have a shared memory interface to the ARM for sending the stepper motor pulses really fast and reliably. There's also more PWMs (good for heating elements, fan controls, etc.) and ADCs (good for thermistors, etc.).
For firmware, Elias has rewritten Marlin as Redeem http://reprap.org/wiki/Redeem. If you you are more of an expert and want more flexible machine control, there is Machinekit http://beagleboard.org/project/MachineKit/.
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JohnFox 25
Why didn't you try the Arduino 'Due'?
It's a lot faster than the Mega and you can run touch screens off it.
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lars86 42
It looks interesting, but a more modest upgrade.
It seems like if you are going to the trouble of sorting out different power requirements, etc, that you might as well jump to something even faster, and with more features, like integrated networking.
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