[Darryl Ramm]

What computer do you have? Edit: Oh I see a HP laptop in your profile. (so you might try ASIO4ALL, and see how well it works with that laptop... and if you want more help here run a SiSoft Sandra report for that laptop and post the result here, see how to do that in the troubleshooting information under "Help Us Help You" up the top of each DUC web page).

Pro Tools always needs an interface (it at least needs an interface that provides an output), that usually is an external interface box but it can be the audio hardware inside the computer.

Mac are easy: on a Mac Pro Tools can use Built-In Output or aggregate that (in Audio/MIDI Setup) with Built-In Input/Mic for some basic input.

On a PC, if the audio hardware (on motherboard or a sound card) has an ASIO driver then you use it directly. That is rare in off the shelf computers, more possible if the computer is build specifically built as a DAW workstation, but at some point why bother, just get an external interface. If the PC has no ASIO compatible audio hardware in it you can use the ASIO4ALL software to "wrap" the native windows audio drivers and make it look like ASIO to Pro Tools and other DAWS... but ASIO4ALL us a bandaid and can cause problems.

The quality of the ASIO or CoreAudio drivers is a big thing. As is how good the software updates and support the vendors provide. So for example companies like UAD and Motu have great reputations. That may be an area where Mackie and Presonus are not that great. But others may have better knowledge there than me.

The current version of Pro Tools is 2019.5. If you have a license for version 12 then you should have access to the 12 installer in your Avid.com acout.

The biggest problems people get themselves into with Pro Tools is *not* interface compatibility, as long as it's CoreAudio or ASIO it should work... but it's 1. having a suitable configuration/power computer (depends on what you want to do/how large the sessions are etc.) and 2. computer operating systems compatibility... you have to make sure that the interface drivers are compatible with the operating system versions, that the version of Pro Tools is compatible with the operating system version, and that (ideally) any third party plugins you want to run are compatible with both the Pro Tools version and operating system version. Avid has compatibility tables that help there for its software. Start at the Help us Help You link up the top of each DUC web page. Also read through the systems optimization steps there to set up your computer properly.