[rescue] off-topic but advice needed for the involuntary hardware upgrade for Win 11?

[john ferguson]

I don't know where to turn but will try here.

Despite still running my Sparc 10, Sunos 4.1.4 and Linux almost 
everywhere else, I'm forced by a couple of applications to stay with 
Windows.  One is Creo - current name for Pro-Engineer, and there are 
others including some Windows Office apps which I need to use to avoid 
incompatibility problems which though seldom tend to be vexing when they 
happen.

And then there's MSFS2020 where I can run a Beech 18 on gauges from 
Champaign to MDW when I can't sleep.

I'm presently running Windows 10, Ubuntu 22.04, and Debian on two HP 
Elite 8300s, with Nvidia GTX 1070s, one at home and one at the shop.  I 
have synology DS216's in each location eachwith 8TB plus removable USB 
drives to back them up monthly and store them disconnected.

They have been fast enough for what I do and I would not change them 
unless I'm forced to - ie the end of Windows 10.

I should add that we've been running an Asus notebook for years on XP 
without a problem, but then it doesn't do much.

It looks like I'm going to have buy a a new motherboard, and since the 
HP's are not quite hardware compatible, now boxes, the new type of solid 
state drives, new RAM, etc.  I'd keep the Nvidias, and a couple of the 
bigger disks now in the HP's.

I haven't shopped this kind of stuff in years, and don't know where to 
start.  I'd thought of looking at what Microsoft thinks is an adequate 
system - not the greatest and start there.  I do need parallel ports on 
the shop machine to run the CNC equipment, but I suppose I can find a 
board with two ports if I can't get one on the MB.

I can't tell if all of this makes any sense. If it doesn't, ask away and 
I'll try to clarify.

regards,

John Ferguson

St Petersburg -- the warm one.