You'll want another hard drive dedicated to audio for sure. You also may want to upgrade that Ram to at least 1 gig.
EDIT: Oh, and make sure you have firewire ports.
I listened to them side-by-side and there was a difference to my ears. Call digidesign and ask them if the pres are the same...I assure you they are not.
If they were, Digi would definitely tout it in the 002 literature, just like the Mbox.
DJL,
Do you not have a life that you need to be on here 24/7 railing on PMIs ass and those who care do defend it (or even simply object to your bully tactics)? Maybe you should spend your time making recordings with equipment that YOU LIKE rather than bullying people and telling them who is...
I agree that if you plan to upgrade in the next couple years the Sonor will offer higher resale value. They seem to be very similar in construction and you probably can't go wrong with either. The Mapex hardware does seem to be more innovative, you many want to check out the differences there.
I think I need to pick up a another dynamic....the only ones I currently have are 2 57s and my kick drum mic (ATM25). I want something that will sound good anyhere, so my first inclination is to go with a Senn 421 or maybe a Shure SM7, but then again I don't really know what other options are...