suggestions please

I'm no great expert, but I'll tell you what I think.
First things first - download Audacity and Krystal recording applications - both are free. You may find that one is better for your way of working than the other.
You say "2 or 3 people playing/singing". The PC is, effectively, a single channel recorder, which means that the 2 or 3 people will end up on one track, if you record all at one time. This will severely limit your editing capability. It will also mean a heavier layout on equipment - you'll need a mic per singer and an input (either from amp/preamp/DI box or mic) per player plus a mixer to bring together and balance what goes into the PC.
A better way, to my mind is to use one mic and one input channel, which you can record to a separate track of, for example, Audacity. This, of course means that recording takes longer, as each track is added on top of what has already been recorded. The big advantage of this method is that (apart from needing far less equipment), you have each part on a separate track, which allows you to add different effects to different component tracks - you can even "beef up" a track, by copying it and adding a very small delay.
So, as basic equipment, you'll need a mic - say Shure SM57 at less than $100, I'd certainly suggest, whichever route you choose, to put it through a mixer - a Behringer UB1002 will set you back around $60. You'll need a few cables and a mic stand (get one with a boom, so that it will work for both voice and acoustic guitar).
The only remaining point, is that sound card. I've no idea whether it's any good or not (generally, "on-board" sound is to be avoided for recording purposes). You would do well to spend some money on something like an M-Audio 2496 or it's replacement, or maybe consider a USB box.

I agree with greybeard, you might spend a bit more on the mixer, get at least 6-8 channels if you wan't to record a band. ( maybe $100-$150) Check out some Behringer mics, you can get a few good mics fopr around $100( although you can't go wrong with the sm57) The other thing is maybe upgrading the soundcard, but that can wait till you get the mixer and mics. --the dog

okay so i guess i should concentrate on mics, stands, cables, and a mixer.
i'm aiming for playing live with a couple of buddies after i get the hang of all this electronic tomfoolery.
what about a pre-amp?
ok if i understand this correctly, i need to have one or two condenser mics for vocals and acoustic instruments, and a dynamic mic for my amp?
also a mixer to blend and connect it all to my pc.?
it sounds like i'm going to need a better sound card also. it seems that the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 PCI Digital Audio card is the one to have.

hmm, time to shop and price things.
---
edit, btw thanx for the help

This might be a good mixer for you if you plan on recording your band, other wise a smaller one will do. with a mixer you should not need a preamp.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/s=mixers/search/detail/base_pid/631232/

As been said it really depends on if you want to record them all at the same time, and if so, want them all to end up on different tracks. If you don't mind recording each track one at a time all you need is:

-A proper mic for vocals/instruments, maybe a different mic if the one you get doesn't work well.
-A super basic mixer, like the Behringer UB502, for around $40.
-A stand, mic cable, 1/4"->1/8" cable for mixer->pc.
-A soundcard with a line-in, yours probably has that already.
-Free editors like Kristal/Audacity.

If you want to record them at the same time but don't care much about seperate tracks (for basic band rehearsal recordings for example)

-All of the above.
-Enough mics for each musician.
-Enough stands and cables.
-A mixer with enough inputs, the UB1002 should work well.

And if you want to record each on a different track:
-Scrap the mixer and get a recorder, Boss has some that can be had used for #200-300.

wow thanx for the advice, i freaked earlier when some of the posts vanished but now they're back :shock:

I'll just add a couple of points if I may :).

If you are going to record everybody at once through a mixer then don't worry too much about a new soundcard, spend the money on another mic or something else. You pay for two things on a quality sound card, one is low latency and the other is sound quality. Recording everybody at once you will be effectively using the pc as a tape recorder so latency isn't going to be an issue for you unless you want instant responce playing with volumes and effects on mixdown. As for quality you can easily do a simple test, record something like your favourite cd (preferebly one with some quiet passages) through your soundcard and listen back on it, if you are happy with the result then you have your answer, on board soundcards certainly aren't the best but you'll probably be happy with it as long as you aren't getting too high a noise floor which is often on board's biggest problem.

If you decide to record everybody individually then sooner or later you might get fed up with the latency and if you decide to use software based midi equipment then the latency will become a huge problem.

If you are happy to record no more than two people at once to seperate tracks then don't forget that one stereo input can also be used as two separate mono tracks on most sequencers.. as for audacity i'm not sure if this can be done.

Lee

You can pan one track to the left and one to the right, record it as one stereo track in audacity and then split it into two mono tracks. So yeah, definitely possible.