New computer that Vision DAW is building for me to run SONAR 8. I've heard so many conflicting (and assertive) opinions about which OS I should be using, I am confused. Thoughts, opinions, advice please?

I am a previous Pro Tools user, but upgraded to vista 64 so PT is no longer an option. I did some research and decided Sonar 8 is the best for what I'm doing, but any recommendations for an interface that works with 64 bit vista?

I'm looking to buy some recording software along with a computer interface. My comp is fast, no problems there. I'm thinking about a MOTU 2408 Core MkIII PCIe interface. That leaves me with about a $600 budget for the software. I'm thinking Cubase 5 or SONAR 8. I will mostly record band audio (drums, bass, guitar, vocs) but will also do my singers side project hip hop stuff.

Ive got Sonar 8 running with my Firestudio project, and when used in either WDM or ASIO mode I can only getting one stereo input (which are mics 1 + 2). I've been trying to fix this but had no luck.

I'm planning on using ASIO mode, since that seems to be the easiest way. When I set everything up it won't let me select my inputs in the driver tab! heres a pic:

I was wondering if anyone on this forum has done some sort of accurate comparison between these two software packages.
Comparing similar tracks and then some analysis of the results to see if there were distinct differences or not.
I would also be interested in any reviews that performed a similar comparison.