I haven't used any of the interfaces you've described, so I can't qualitatively help you there. I will attempt to answer the questions you've asked, though.
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1.I plan to buy (in some near future) a TL Audio pre-amp, maybe the 5001 Ivory.
In that view, do I really need to get a soundcard with high quality input pre-amps now?
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From what I've seen, no marketing department would let it's product leave the factory with "moderate" or "low" quality preamps slapped on the box. All of the interfaces will have "high quality preamps", but none will probably show the care and color provided by the Ivory you are looking at. The plus side is most of the interface designers try to avoid coloring signal at all, touting a super clean, low noise signal as their banner.
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2.In view that most soundcards have balanced inputs, or Hi-Z, do I need to buy
DI boxes in addition?
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Most interfaces with multi-inputs or groups of XLR/1/4" inputs give you the ability to choose whether an input is Hi-Z or Lo-Z. A DI box is a great thing to have for many reasons, so definitely consider it if it's in budget. I don't think you will necessarily HAVE to have one, though.
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3.Is my USB2 port for the external HD fast enough to use it for my record work?
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Yes. Your hard drive transfer speed should be able to easily handle the file transfer speed requirements of your recordings. If anything, it might slow down during massive track recordings, but that's more than likely processor-related rather than hard-drive related.
Have fun choosing! I wish I had the money to have your problem!