Putting it all together.

Out with the old and in with the new is not quite the right thing to say as it should be "out with the old and in with the not so old", basically my lifelong habit of recycling everything from a previous computer and creating a machine with more capability, plus the support of the latest variant of a familiar operating system.

I wrote this to my buddy this morning :

"It is definitely a security and performance improvement to switch from our current (not supported) motherboards and CPUs to the quite vast array of supported units, changing the ancient master boot record (MBR) to the expanded GUID Partition table (GPT) is required, but relatively straightforward and allows for bigger storage space. The trusted platform module (TPM) built into the supported CPUs and configured with the BIOS of supported motherboards, enhances security, along with a thing they call Secure Boot which again creates a sort of fortress against malware and unsecure programs at the boot stage. All of this is an improvement, in addition to the general hardware improvements the public can enjoy from the new generations of motherboards and processors, USB-C connectivity and the faster USB4 transfer rates, multiple NVME drive support and perhaps even WiFi 7 on the motherboard"

The new motherboard has USB-C and USB 3.2 and supports two NVME drives, but I'm only using one and it also has an M.2 slot for WiFi but I'm using the previous PCIe WiFi card, which coincidently, uses the same type of slot and WiFi card, I like the integrated aspect of the antenna on the old kit and would have to run antenna wires across my motherboard if I used the integrated slot. 

So there we are, the younger motherboard is introduced to all the older bits, and it is time for the post mortem of how much this upgrade cost, which will be shocking. Motherboard was $100 from marketplace, the I/O Shield was $15.40 from eBay and came from the Netherlands (but China actually) and I bought two more 4GB sticks of DDR4 which was another $10 on marketplace. A total of $125.40 for the "new" bits and all the previous kit was reused. Windows 11 Home was installed free with a digital license linked to my Microsoft account, GPT, TPM and Secure boot will keep me safe at night while this backup machine sits in the garage waiting for something to break on my gaming machine.

This upgrade cost is not quite true as it will be offset by selling the replaced motherboard on marketplace, which I estimate will bring in about $50 or thereabouts, although I am optimistic and am swinging for the stars with my initial pricing, we will see I suppose, perhaps the market for sixth and seventh generation kit is over and I will reuse that one and experiment with a gaming machine variant of Linux in the near future. That will be interesting for sure, however, selling the old kit, while I can, is the way forward.

All done! - What's next?