I sort of went down kicking and screaming before I finally gave up on internal sound cards. If doing simple tasks, the Scarlett 2i2 may be more than sufficient for you. The advantage of such devices is the pre-amps, but I do not know if internals exists with comparable pre-amps (so take that with a huge grain of salt). The device is not huge, and very portable (can easily unplug and put away when not "in use," or even use it on someone else's machine). Some others may have advice on comparable internals, but I personally like being able to control the interface via "knobs and switches."
I actually run internal (onboard) audio for Win7, and have my Saffire dedicated to SONAR usage.