Hello,
 
My old sound card (emu 1010) seems to not wake from sleep well (distortion) requiring reboots, so I'm looking for a good sound card for occasional input but mostly output with low latency, lots of capacity, etc. for my newer PC. It need only a stereo in and stereo out at minimum. The choices are many these days, but what do y-all recommend?
 
Thanks!

Sound blaster :) 
 
Make a list of all the features you need first. I see people running out and buying a Audio Interface just because someone else uses it and find out they don't have important features they need. We all work differently so make sure you get what you need. 
 
How many Inputs and what type do you use
Outputs how many and were do they go 
SPDIF 
MIDI 
Headphones
Front panel Controls for all the above. 
Steel or plastic box
Buss powered devices can have issues with certain set ups. So think about power. 
Does it come with free software? 
Does it use a GUI control panel 
Does it have DSP. ( internal effect processor) 
And most important of all Real good drivers that are well known to work with Sonar. 
 
I bought the Scarlett 6i6 as it met all my needs. 
The 2i2 and 2i4 are buss powered and don't come with the Mix control software, for a few bucks more get the 6i6. 
 

Sleep is the problem not the interface. SONAR does not wake up well, sleep should not be used with a DAW. It might be possible to recover from sleep by disabling and enabling the interface drivers but can't say for sure, my PC never sleeps or hibernates. The PC is always on until turned off.

Need to know what kind of budget you are looking at. There are just too many options without that to narrow it down :).

Thanks for the replies. I'm an hobbyist, so I wouldn't be motivated to dump too much money in to things like low noise floors, 8 ins/outs, etc. I at least want something that doesn't buzz with headphones on like my MOBO sound offering, and perhaps play regular music through while working on other things. I assumed a break-out box of some kind would make sure there wasn't any buzz and relatively low noise (although my emu card is pretty quiet). I'd not be willing to pay more than around $200, but would rather pay around $100.
 
The wake-from-sleep distortion on my emu card shows itself intermittently with any sound that's sent to it. Right now, I have it set to my default sound source for the PC, so all sounds sound distorted many times after waking up (not just Sonar). I assume it's the outdated drivers that don't reset some of the card's voltage bias levels after waking up (relying on a cold boot only). I'd rather not keep this workstation powered 24/7, but perhaps the electricity costs of doing so would never accumulate to the cost of buying a new sound card.

It is not necessary to run the PC continuously to avoid sleep or hibernation, just turn the PC off when not in use. A new sound card may fix system sound issues related to sleep but probably won't do a thing for the DAW if using a Cakewalk product. Not sure what is available for $100. The better external units in the 150-200 range from what I have seen they are bus powered (for example: Focusrite, Presonus, Steinberg). To get a decent unit that is not bus powered runs about $250-300.

Don't use the emu as the default sound source.  Some people do and have no problems, others have problems.  If your head hurts every time you do this, stop it.  Pain goes away.  Same as sleep.  Sometimes it works fine for me, but about half the time the computer wakes up and needs coffee.
 
But your best bet in that price range is probably a focusrite.  I don't use one, but lots of people here do and have success.  They seem happy w/ the drivers and sound.  Another option (at the upper end of your money) is the TC Electronic.  FW, tabletop w/ a nice vol knob, OK drivers and very good sound.  I haven't heard it next to other low end interfaces side by side, but it is the same hardware as their pro units which I used for years and are excellent.

Thanks for the info. It sounds like a USB device is the way to go these days.

i've had great success with a Maudio Audiophile 192 card.
 
excellent convertors,
very simple interface,
decent latency

+1 for Focusrite.
I got my Scarlett 2i4 for about $150.....excellent interface all way around. 
 
http://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-2i4