hey man,
i had a pretty similar question to yours on this forum a few months back and the cats here recommended an M-Audio product as they are high quality and have no known latency problems. I was on a pretty tight budget and so went for the
M-Audio Transit USB, which is about £70. I've been really impressed with it, its got digital/optical in/out, as well as your standard business. nice sound, good reliable product (touch wood!), pretty cheap and tiny size. for my MIDI biscuits i went for an M-Audio Midisport 2 X 4. Its only about £45 and does everything I need it to.
I know you can get all in one solutions but I was advised to go for the seperates as they are easier to upgrade, and if one were to break it wouldnt be the end of the world. It also worked out pretty cheap, and I'm impressed by the M-Audio range as a whole.
Hope this helps,
Ferdie