What Hardware Do I Need? Options

[Derek77]

I just spent my summer taking a class working with cubase vst/32 with reason and midi on a PC, and enjoyed myself immensely, in spite of the bugs. I would like to set up my own home DAW, but I'm not sure what I need. I'm a mac guy, so I would get a G5. I know I need a midi keyboard controller, but I'm confused on this sound card business. I would only record one audio track at a time, with either a microphone or instrument input - I play guitar and violin. Do I need a preamp? Do I need a soundcard? Am I forgetting anything? I am not necessarily going to buy cubase, if that makes a difference. Thanks for any input.