An older Dell quadcore I7 laptop 8 GB ram that can run 3.84 GHz
Model? Can't be that old either, these kinds of turbo clocks have only been around since Skylake / Kaby Lake.
or a Desk Top 32GB DDR3 ram, I7 4790 @ 4.00GHz,
Motherboard model?
(Run
msinfo32, that usually tells you something.)
I would honestly want to give the onboard audio line-in in the desktop machine a chance first, assuming it features one of the better Realtek chips and isn't plagued with inherent noise, as to be determined via test recordings. This'll require a decent-quality RCA --> 3.5 mm cable. Recording in 24/96 with Audacity can be a bit fiddly but is doable (set up input device for 24/96 format, select WASAPI input in Audacity, make sure standard sample format is at least 24 bit). Use ASIO4All for a "proper" DAW.
The M2 seems overdressed in some ways and underdressed in others. For best results this interface should be used at 192 or even 384 kHz, which is a bit annoying. Its massive dynamic range would be largely wasted. All you
really need is good consumer soundcard performance ca. mid-late 2000s, or modern higher-end onboard audio level if implemented decently. An Asus Xonar SE should be fine, assuming it's behaving itself. So should their older cards, assuming the drivers are cooperating (I have yet to try a D1/D2 under Win10, and given the issues I've had with later drivers I'm not too hopeful on the playback side being initialized correctly, though I think the recording side did work OK).
