This is not an Audacity bug that is fixable by changing version. Playthrough done by routing audio from input to output through software processing always has latency. Please see Why is there a delay or echo when listening to what I am recording? .
You have an obsolete and insecure operating system, but older machines do sometimes have hardware playthrough of inputs. Have you tried going into Windows Sounds and Audio Devices ? In the “Sound playback” section, select the sound device you are using for input then click “Volume”. See if there is a volume slider for the Line-in that I assume you are connecting to. If the Line-In has a volume slider, unmute it and turn up the slider. That is hardware playthrough and should have no latency. Then turn off Transport > Software Playthrough in Audacity.
Audacity 2.0.3 is also outdated. I suggest you get 2.0.6: http://audacityteam.org/download/windows .
If you have any more questions please give exact make and model numbers of all your equipment including the “crummy” soundcard and exactly how you are connecting all these pieces together.
Gale