[jdaug]

I need to record the guitar and vocals at the same time - now - do I need a seperate pre-amp for both? Will I get better qaulity pre-amps on a mixer, an audio interface, or a soundcard?

you either need a 2 channel preamp or 2 preamps to record 2 sources at the same time. Most decent interfaces have built in preamps, but these arent as good quality as you will find on a standalone purpose built preamp. they are good enough though for entry level. i agree with archetype in that you should forget about an internal soundcard. Your external interface IS your soundcard, built specifically for recording music. they just give it a fancy name and call it an interface.

when you say mixer, are you referring to a standalone digital mixer desk? i dont use one of these, as cubase has all that built in. If you only have 2 inputs you probly dont need a standalone mixer. There are some interfaces that look like mixers (called control surfaces), which are basically an external soundcard with physical faders and knobs on them, as opposed to software mixer. This is just a matter of preference-do you have to have physical knobs to twist or can you do it on screen.

I'm looking for zero latency really. Is that unrealistic?

you can dial in any latency (buffering) you want with your interface utility or DAW, but depending on your system, if you lower it too far you will get unwanted pops, clicks, etc. Once you get your system built you will need to tweak your setttings to find the optimal balance between sound quality and latency. I dont have zero latency on my rig (as in 0 milliseconds), but the latency is so small that its undetectable to my ear. i can monitor while tracking, with effects, with no problem.

I can do everything I need to do in the box via a soundcard and software - but my question is - will I get significantly different results in terms of qaulity if I use an audio inerface/mixer? Are'nt the analouge to digital converters on an audio interaface of a better standard?

i havent looked at any internal soundcard specs, but im guessing externals probably give you better bang for buck in the A/D department, not to mention ease of use, etc. Internal soundcards for music recording are going the way of the dinosaur, so I wouldnt get on that sinking ship.

look at the soundcard/interface wizard in this forum. you can get a pretty good interface with preamps bundled with all the software you need to start recording for $500.