Karl Townsend wrote:

I'm looking for a new motherboard and haven't really kept up with
computer technology for several years now.

If I can re-use the CPU, I will save the cost of this part PLUS greedy
greedy M$oft won't make me pay for ANOTHER win 7 OS disk.
I buy used Dell Optiplex and such machines from their industrial-grade
line (not the consumer-grade stuff). Looking at them, I sure can't
tell the difference, except maybe the sheet metal work is a bit lighter
on the consumer models. But, their commercial desktops are just amazingly
robust. I recently replaced my main desktop, an Optiplex GX400 which
** I ** had been using for TWELVE years after buying it used. My daughter
is now using it.

If you swap the disk drive into the new machine, M$ should only require
a re-registration of the new hardware (if that). You can also clone
the old hard drive to a brand-new SSD.

I would recommend NOT trying to save the CPU. CPUs and motherboards have
a constant progression of models, and unless you are a real PRO with
them, you could easily end up with incompatible parts.

Memory is another matter. There are different number of contacts on the
memory connectors (used to be 240- and 204-contacts) as well as
different bus speeds, and DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc. Some MBs accept
several types and speeds, others are more picky.

I use Linux, and it is outstandingly reliable and immune to various
crap people try to put on your computer without your knowledge.

Jon