Cheapest Laptop 8 input soundcard?

[Garak]

My parents are thinking about getting me a new laptop for school and I've been wanting to upgrade to 8 inputs and get something alittle more mobile. So I'm looking at my options for a cardbus or firewire soundcard. Currently I have a delta 44 and I would like to move up to a delta 1010 but that isn't so mobile.

So what are my options? I've been looking at the echo Layla and the MOTU 828, are their any other options that won't break the bank?

 

[adam]

The new presonus Firestation looks very interesting. might be a buck or 2 cheaper than the 828 or layla. other than that, the other solutions either have less i/o (digigram xpocket) or are more expensive than the above (rme multiface -- i have one or metric halo mobile i/o).

 

[adam]

oh yeah, magma also makes a box that converts pci into cardbus, so you could use the delta, but actually I think these boxes cost MORE than the 828 or Firestation

 

[Polaris20]

oh yeah, magma also makes a box that converts pci into cardbus, so you could use the delta, but actually I think these boxes cost MORE than the 828 or Firestation

yeah I checked that road out.... the Magma chassis are way cool, but even the one slot deal is more than a Mona or Layla. Too bad, because I'd rather have gone that route.

Seriously, does anyone here think it really costs that much to make those pieces? It seems to me they're capitalizing on the lack of expansion chassis markets.