Here is one of my rigs. It is able to operate independently of computers (Yes!).
I'm eventually going to get a Mac Laptop or one of those impressive towers, at which point I may acquire some beefier sound cards.
Here is a link to a test recording -- I was mainly checking out the Vimeo service to determine if it is better than YouTube.
Ulf Onoff's audio-video signal chain: A chance to hear the blessed Line Audio 2MP