Hard to believe, but this is a followup to posts
I made here about this time 16 years ago, when
the folks here (especially the venerable Paul)
helped me spec out the PC I wanted to build at
that time (while I've been building since 1985
it's usually several years between full builds
[as opposed to incremental changes] and I'm not
always as current on developments as more regular
builders are). That system is still running
(I'm typing this on it) and so far I've only
needed to replace the hard drive (after ten
years) and the power supply (after fifteen).
However, while I've been determinedly running on
Windows XP this whole time (as we all know Windows
has gone downhill ever since) I'm starting to run
into too many situations where, for example, some
websites won't run on the last version of Firefox
that works in XP (sometimes because they think
it's IE and tell me as much), while some programs
or updates thereof now won't run on anything
lower than Windows 7, 8 or even 10, and if I were
to decide to finally bite the bullet and update
to 11 my current hardware likely wouldn't meet
all of its installation requirements.

So it seems I'm finally looking at having to do
a new build in the near future. I've done some
research and tried to spec out what I think
probably would work best but once again I want
to throw it out to the gang here for evaluation,
especially since last time when I did so the
valuable comments led me to my current v2.0 build
which is worlds away from and much better than
the initial v1.0 spec I presented. I'm hoping
to retain my existing hardware where possible,
although I suspect most of those components
won't fit or run on a modern MB or have just
become obsolete, so I've mapped this out to show
[what I have now] and what I think >>> I'd have
to replace it with or what I think I could keep,
and why.

First, though, a recap of what I expect to use
the new build for (which hasn't really changed
much since I first typed this in 2006):

1) Word processing (WordPerfect and Word 2003)
2) Multiple large complex spreadsheets (QuattroPro
and Excel 2003)
3) Filling in and printing PDF forms (Adobe Reader)
4) Internet use
a) e-mail and Usenet (Thunderbird)
b) Web research & browsing (Firefox)
c) Modifying PDF documents (ILovePDF)
d) Occasional file transfers
5) a) Creating & editing MIDI files and printed
scores (Finale or Sibelius), sometimes
with input from an outboard digital piano;
b) Transferring vinyl records to CD-R(W) or
MP3; maybe some editing thereof
c) Capturing various audio/video sources and
editing sound bites
6) a) Some DVR use with some possible edits/
transfers to DVD
b) Some VHS-to-DVD conversion and some editing
thereof
c) Some editing of clips from DVR/DVD sources
NO GAMING (except FreeCell), NO OVERCLOCKING but
a LOT of multitasking of the above processes

[I still want to be able to do 5) and 6) even
though I frustratingly have never had time to
do any of it on this system after all these
years; I even specifically bought Windows XP MCE
for this purpose and yet have never even had a
chance to set up much less use MCE. Still, hope
springs eternal. I mostly use Corel WordPerfect
and QuattroPro for my own work but one of my
main jobs requires daily MS Excel and Word use
(and I'm sticking with 2003 for both, which I
prefer over the later "ribbon" versions and
which actually lets me do some things they
can't), which is why you see both suites
incongruously listed here.]

Given that, here's the hardware I've picked so far:

CPU: [Intel Core 2 Duo E6400] >>> Intel Core i5 12600
The i5 12600 seems to be the best balance of specs
and price in the 12th Gen line for my needs. I
don't need its integrated graphics processor since
I plan to have a video card, which might speak to
going for the 12600KF which doesn't have it.
However, unlike in 11th Gen, the KF isn't just
missing the GPU while inexplicably running at twice
the wattage but has completely different architecture,
so the question is whether the apparent modestly
higher benchmarks on the KF are significant enough
to justify all the impact of its higher power draw
(and its higher price).

CPU cooling: Not previously addressed in v2.0--I
just used the fan Intel supplied with the CPU--
but with the above CPUs it's become a factor.
While the 12600 comes with a fan I've read some
reviews which say that it's inadequate, and the
KF doesn't come with any cooler, so either way
I'd need to explore options here and while I have
a sense that liquid might be better than air
(though mostly seems to be used by gamers running
rigs that would set their houses on fire if left
to stock fans) I really don't have a good grip on
this and would welcome guidance.

Motherboard: [Asus P5B-E] >>> Asus Prime Z690-P WiFi
Given my P5B-E's trouble-free performance to
date I'm still something of an Asus loyalist
although I know some folks around here tend to
favour some other brands. The Z690-P seems to
be the best of Asus's LGA1700 MBs for my needs;
I've never needed WiFi where I am so far but I
figure for the few extra bucks over the other
Asus Prime Z690s without it it couldn't hurt to
get it now just in case of future need.

Memory: [Crucial 2x1Gb Kit, DDR2-533, PC2-4200]
>>> Crucial 2x16GB Kit, DDR5-4800 UDIMM CT2K16G48C40U5
For me Crucial has always been the single
no-brainer in builds. If I'm reading the specs
and guidelines for the above CPUs and MB properly
I think this is the most compatible set; anyone
know differently? (I'm also assuming 2x16Gb is
adequate; if not, I could bump up to 2x32Gb Kit
or two 2x16GB Kits.)

{Note: I originally specced this as an 11th Gen
build with Intel i5 11600KF, Asus Prime Z590-P
Wifi and Crucial DDR4-3200 memory since I was
seeing some negative writeups of 12th Gen CPUs
& sockets (e.g. buckling of the LGA1700 sockets
which compromised CPU cooling) and CPU/MB prices
but further reading suggested I still should go
ahead and jump to 12th Gen; if there's any
reason you think I'm better off with 11th Gen
than 12th Gen please so advise.}

Storage: [Western Digital Blue 1TB HDD] >>>
Samsung 980PRO nvME M.2 PCIe4.0 SSD w/Heatsink
While I'm old-skool enough to want to stick with
a WD HDD as I have since the 1980s it's obvious
that SSD is now the current standard and the
Samsung 980PRO seems to be getting the best
reviews I've found. If it fits I might also
hook up my current WD Blue 1TB HDD (five years
old; it replaced the 10-year-old WD 320Gb
WD3200KS) and use it for data storage but given
that I've never filled any more than 75Gb on it
with both programs and data (50Gb on its
predecessor) even a 250Gb SSD likely would be
far more than ever needed (though I'd probably
spring for a 500Gb one just in case) so unless
I keep the current system intact I'm more
likely to get an enclosure for that HDD and
turn it into an external backup drive.

Optical Drive: [Samsung SH-S182D DVD/CD writer]
>>> Asus BW-16D1HT Blu-Ray/DVD/CD writer
I initially assumed I'd just transfer the
existing drive over to the new build but I've
just recently started to rethink this. At the
time of my current build Blu-Ray was fairly
new and people were saying it wouldn't catch on,
especially for computers, so I didn't get a
Blu-Ray drive, just a DVD one, and I've never
acquired any Blu-Ray discs (except a few that
came as part of CD music album packages), even
as they've apparently largely been relegated to
the clearance bins at the Best Buys of the
world. However, just this year I've found that
the label which acquired the back catalogue of
certain longtime noted musician friends of mine
has been reissuing their albums with Blu-Ray
discs of remixes thereof (which also have some
video content), and those can't be played on
my TV's standalone HDD/DVD recorder any more
than the DVD-Audio discs I have can be, so I'd
need some kind of Blu-Ray reader and all the PC
internal drives I'm finding are writers though
all seem to have some kind of limitation of
what discs of any kind they can handle. The
top reviewed ones seem to be LG, Asus and (less
so) Pioneer, and the Asus has a power-saving
feature which the others don't which gives it
a bit of an edge when not in use.

Video Card: [BFG GeForce 7600GT OC]
This is a PCIe card that should run in one of
the X16 slots on the Z690-P board so apparently
no reason not to carry it over. If, as it may
turn out, this is the only piece that can be
carried over I'd more likely keep the current
system intact with it and then need to find a
suitable card for the new system (BFG went out
of business in 2010 so I can't just get another
one of these); suggestions?

Sound Card: [Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
SB0460] >>> Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Rx
Unfortunately I don't think I can use the X-Fi
PCI card on the Z690-P in one of the other PCIe
slots, and Creative tells me this Audigy is the
best they can do for what I want although if
someone's got a better idea I'm open to it,
since this is an eight-year-old product with
mixed reviews. One of the key reasons for
originally choosing the X-Fi Platinum was its
front panel I/O drive box which was the only way
to connect MIDI devices to the system (ditto RCA
phone, phono and optical plugs), and Creative
has not designed its current cards to work with
this I/O box or otherwise duplicate its functions,
now using only 3.5mm mini jacks necessitating a
jungle of adaptor cords and plugs to connect
anything else to them. Evidently these days
MIDI devices are now more often communicating
via USB rather than 5-pin MIDI plugs, which
would make the I/O box unnecessary for that
purpose but I still like it for its facile
multiplicity of connections and would have
liked to have been able to keep it.

Floppy Disk Drive: [NEC FD1231H-302]
Yes, believe it or not I still have an archive
of 3.5" floppies (even some 5") which I haven't
had the time to copy onto a USB drive, and I
have occasionally had people come to me with
their own floppies they need me to read and/or
transfer files from. I see no reason not to
be prepared if it's not a drain on resources,
and since I can't reuse the one in my current
system which seems to have failed I'd likely
want to look at something which handles these
and perhaps also assorted memory cards (SD,
CF, etc) like the Syba SY-CRD50034 or Sabrent
CRW-FLP2 (not that those seem to be findable
any more), again just in case.

Modem Card: [Multitech MT5634ZPX-PCI-U]
Haven't had to send faxes from my computer in
many years so not planning to try to carry
this over; also unlikely it would run in a
PCIe X16 slot even if I put it in. Not
using the computer as an answering machine
either so don't know of any other reason to
have a phone modem (except perhaps for a
dialup backup if my broadband went out) but
if the PCIe x1 slot is open I could always
toss in a USRobotics USR5638, again (all
together now) just in case.

Power Supply: [PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750]
I just got this power supply last year when
the 15-year-old Silencer 470 gave out, so I
would expect to transfer it to the new build
unless I decide to keep the current system
intact, in which case I'd just buy a new one
of these for the new build unless a different
one is called for.

Case: [CoolerMaster Elite 330; added Antec TriCool 120 front fan]
Currently planning to reuse this unless for
some reason it's not a good match for the
above scheme. If I chose to keep the current
system intact and so needed to buy a new case
for the new build I'd want to get another one
of these; unfortunately it's no longer made,
nor is its successor, the 330U, which put the
power supply at the bottom of the case instead
of the top. There doesn't seem to be a
comparable unit in the current CoolerMaster
line, the closest one being perhaps the N400;
it would largely depend on how many front
panel drive bay exposures I'd end up needing
(and it seems that those have been disappearing
from the vast majority of all manufacturers'
cases, not just CM's). I could be persuaded
to look at models similar to the 330(U) from
other brands if anyone has a favourite out
there I don't know about.

So there we are. If anyone has bothered to
read this far and would like to chime in I'd
welcome the input.