What audio interface were you using previously? Regarding block/buffer size, higher values (like 512, 1024 or even 2048) can be great when mixing and working with a lot of CPU hungry processing, but the higher the setting, the more latency/input delay you'll get. Keep it low (e.g. 32, 64 or 128) when recording, to keep latency/input delay down, but at the cost of higher CPU strain and possible glitching. A powerful computer with a good audio interface should allow for much lower size settings before starting to act up.