Need suggestions on how to choose the right MPC

Hey, everyone!
Ive been doing instrumentals in FL studio (mostly chopping up samples and looping), but lately Ive been craving that old school touch (literally) to the beats world and instead of "drawing" my instrumentals in the program, I want to be able to create them on the MPC by pushing its buttons, so I hope this is the right place to ask. Ive been doing some research the past couple of weeks and I think Akai MPC 1000 is what I am looking for (it has a connection to a computer and it seemed relatevely cheap compared to the other ones). But then again if you have other suggestions I am all ears.
So here are some questions:
I have a laptop - do I need to buy an external sound card (mixer?) in order to connect the MPC to the laptop, or the USB connection is more than enough?
If I am to buy the Akai MPC 1000 what should I be looking for? The black or the blue one is better?
Which operating system is the best?
What kind of extra cables will I need for the basic and/or extra operations?
Does it stack with FL Studio or only Ableton?
I think I might be forgetting something so I might bump the thread or post a seperate question later on. Thanks for now

Lampdog wrote:

TBV wrote:I have a laptop - do I need to buy an external sound card (mixer?) in order to connect the MPC to the laptop, or the USB connection is more than enough?

USB on MPC1000 is for data transfer only. No audio or midi travels via USB.
USB connects compact flash to computer.

pg4

http://manuals.fdiskc.com/flat/Akai%20MPC-1000%20E3%20Owners%20Manual.pdf

Thanks for the info! Does a new MPC usually comes with all the cables needed (as the ones stated in the manual)?

I'm not sure how much you are willing to spend but if I were you I would get the mpc2500. It's basically the deluxe edition of the 1000 and it wouldn't be much more. The trick would to be finding either one in good condition. It's pretty easy to replace most parts and installing upgrades. You will also need an audio interface if you are trying to record into ableton or fl studio. Where would you be getting most your samples from a turntable and/or phone?