Here's what I would do(though I'm not sure if it fits within yer budget), I would first make sure the computer has a lot of processing power, and a lot of ram memory. Secondly, I would get a second harddrive, a fast one, that'll be used only for audio. Other things I'd get are the Digidesign Digi 001 package, a nice pre-amp, and some reasonably priced active monitors.
God I wish I had money, lol.
Anyway, if you wanna do some decent recording, don't get the soundblaster! I know a lot of people use those, but there is better stuff out there, for the same price, or maybe just a little bit more.
