AJ, as you know there is no one right way of doing things. I would say with the the current crop of soundcards and assoicated drivers (WDM, ASIO, GSIF, etc.) you should have no latency form start to finish. Also, the software you use must be up to the task, e.g., Yamaha's soft synths are not, etc. I think it has come to the point where software provides another viable alternative to hardware. So you can now pick your favorite medicine.