OK, I can get external USB DVD/CD drives cheaper then their optional upgrades, if even available on the model. I could even get some young person to jerry-rig an external drive stack to utilize our existing hardware(optical and HDs).
How much of an effect is the slowness for newer game programs(Tropico6 Anno1800)? We could try reducing the Write cycles by checking WinUpdate weekly and moving some frequently rewriten files to storage on an older HD. Tech articles say generally 1 write error/6months with 10 year warrentied SSD lasting worry free 5 years in average use.
3. Most of us agree that IBuyPower has provided us with reliable game systems that last beyond our expectation(5years). Dell provides good multi-media systems but their service complaint response needs to be less hastling for repair/replacement. Some still like CyberPower for game systems but reliability isn't as good as IBuyPower in our experiance.
Update: 9/9/2019
Almost forgot about an archiving rig I had build 3 years ago; have not used in 2 years. It should suffice for a 'drive stack'(via NIC) once I move the extra parts into it. The time was only a few minutes off once I got it connected. I let it do a maintenance routine to check PC Health(good to go). I'll let it Windows Update itself over this night.
I sorta settled on IBuyPower's basic Z390 I7 configuration. Exceeds recommended system specs for what I will likely use it for. Might buy 2, one for me and one for the families computer room(a backup in case one gets rattled in shipment). The Adult Grandkids and their parents are just getting checks to splurge with next month; ~4K each seems fair with another at Xmas for whatever the accountant figures would be under the annual gift tax limits.
[This message has been edited by user3 (edited 09-09-2019 @ 06:10 PM).]