Question, you only talk about a preamp, how do you want to do your monitoring?
What active monitors and headphones do you have, how do you want to connect them?

I looked at your other postings in the past, you had an UFX+, do you still have it?
Well, then the best solution is to connect the 12Mic via MADI …

Regarding AVB

Unlike macOS, Windows doesn't include any native support for AVB stream management – specifically, it lacks an AVDECC controller, which is required to establish and manage AVB connections (e.g. between Talkers and Listeners).

BTW, I heard that operation under macOS is very cumbersome.
So it is better in any way to get a RME Digiface AVB with RME AVDECC controller, which eases operation of AVB streams.

So, to work with AVB on Windows, you’ll need dedicated hardware like the RME Digiface AVB. It provides:
- its own AVDECC controller (via the RME AVB Controller software),
- full driver support, including TotalMix FX,
- and functions as a fully AVB-capable audio interface.

General remark to network based setups (AVB, Dante)

But I wouldn't recommend using network-based protocols like AVB and Dante, if you do not really require them.

It is still more flexible and less expensive to use either ADAT or MADI because only there you have the traditional clock master / slave synchronization when working with different sample rates. With AVB and Dante, you need to reconfigure the audio streams on every device in the network setup.

As soon as you would have multiple AVB devices, you also need an AVB capable network switch (expensive).
With Dante you should configure QoS and you would need switches with the possibility to configure / support QoS.

With MADI you have a dedicated transport medium based on a standard multimode fiber cable, no additional devices or complexity. Optical cables additionally give you galvanic isolation between the devices.
You can use either OM3 or OM4 multimode cables which are easily available as patch cables from 0.5 - up to 50m, some shops offer customized length. Up to 2 km length is theoretically possible between each of the devices.
You can connect one device to a MADI port of a recording interface or alternative chain multiple devices, which gives you a gread flexibility.
One MADI bus allows 64 channels at single speed, 32ch at double and 16 at quad speed.
So it is well suited for any further extension.

Option A - ADAT based

The cheapest solution is to get a Digiface USB with 4x ADAT. You need to make the 12Mic to act as Clock Master otherwise there is no other possibility. Digiface USB has no Word Clock, 12Mic has no digital inputs.

https://www.thomann.de/de/rme_digiface_usb.htm €438

As you have a Laptop (no PC with PCIe slots), a RayDAT is not possible. The RayDAT would have had the advantage to support Word Clock with the optional add-on card. Then you could have made the computer to act as clock master which is a win if you often switch sample rate between e.g. 44.1 and 48 kHz.

Remark: if you use a Digiface USB you might need something to connect your monitoring.
Digiface USB and 12Mic have analog outputs, flagged as headphones output, but you could also use it
as unbalanced output to connect monitors.

A higher quality solution would be to connect one of the RME reference converters.

Laptop------USB2----------------------------+
|                                                             | Remote control of reference converter with ADI-2 Remote Software
| USB 2                                                   |
|                +--ADAT4--------------->ADI-2 DAC FS, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE or ADI-2/4 Pro SE
|               /
Digiface USB---ADAT1<-------------12Mic (for double speed you need 3x ADAT I/O, for single speed 2x)
                 \---ADAT2<-------------/
                  \--ADAT3<------------/

Option B - MADI based

Another possibility is to get a MADI capable recording interface.
Then you can also remote control the 12Mic in different ways, via
a) Browser
b) MIDI over MADI
- using TotalMix FX Auxdevice (which stores the most important preamp settings in TM FX snapshots and workspaces)
- using RME connector either over LAN or MIDI over MADI
  when using LAN you have more bandwidth then peak metering (of 12Mic preamp channels) is possible

The cheapest way to implement MADI connectivity is by using the MADIface USB.
Other possibilities: UFX III, MADIface XT II.

https://www.thomann.de/de/rme_madiface_usb.htm €842 (you might need an add device for monitoring)
With the following devices, you can use their analog ports for monitoring:
https://www.thomann.de/de/rme_madiface_xt_ii.htm €2099monitoring)
https://www.thomann.de/de/rme_fireface_ufx_iii.htm €2399

As you have a laptop, PCIe-based cards supporting MADI are out of scope: HDSPe MADI, HDSPe MADI FX.
Except, you could perhaps use thunderbolt based external boxes with PCIe slots. I know they work well in the Apple world, but do not know whether its the same under Windows.

If you want support for the latest features like Room EQ, Crossfeed:
UFX III, MADIface XT II
Or HDSPe MADI FX, PCIe (later versions of this card, which have upgraded HW).

All products support 1 MADI bus for 64 channels.
Except: MADIface XT II and HDSPe MADI FX, which support 3 MADI buses (3x 64ch at single speed).

Differences between RME USB/FW/TB recording interfaces

Check my Excel, see this sticky posting: https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=35156
(Doesn't include PCI/PCIe cards, AVB, Dante products).