Pro Audio 9 rookie!

i just grabbed this sucker recently and im new to the whole studio deal but very familiar with computers/hardware/software. my friend and i have a little acoustic duo thing going on ie 1-2 acoustic guitars and vocals. im curious about a couple things - 1) im going to buy a condensor mic - any tips on what to look for etc? i heard that playing the acoustic through the mic is better than direct inputting but not sure any words of wisdom? 2)also looking to upgrade sound card but nothing expensive, just the best bang for my buck any clues guys? also anything important that im missing or need feel free to tell me ! thx dudes :]

-tones

on this guy ill be using for recording its onboard sound at the moment so anything is an upgrade but point really being im willing to spend about 250 max on the combo (mic + sound card) because i assume theyre both pretty important for sound quality and sound processing. and im not sure if theres anything else that would come in handy but id consider anything pretty much as long as it isnt overkill. i just want the recording to sound as clean and noise free as possible but also have plenty of room to play around and do some nasty tricks. any ideas?

none other! weird coincidence isnt it - this is ed i assume?

TONY
We'll talk about mics and stuff at your lesson
See you Thursday