I agree with you, honestone. My 2007 Mac Pro became a dinosaur when the maximum OS that it could use was Lion (10.7). I resisted upgrading until two things happened:
1. Apple discontinued support for Snow Leopard (the app that I was using) and I wanted the extra security features.
2. I turned 70 and wanted a suitable birthday present for a BIG milestone. I reasoned that I would turn 70 only once, but that's true for every other birthday!
Yeah, I really liked my 2006 MacPro. There were some "hacks" running around the internet to try and get it to run Mountain Lion, including replacing some hard ware inside the machine. But, I did not want to go through all that, and the number of folks having success doing such hacks/upgrades was not overwhelming.
It's too bad, because the machine itself was still functioning, until I had that issue with the motherboard. So, in mid 2013, I purchased my late 2012 model Core i7 Mac Mini. I was able to use my 19" Sony Monitor, Apple keyboard, and Logitech mouse with the mini (still have the monitor), along with salvaging the DVD drive (now in an external case connected to my Mac Mini, although I do not use it much). I did replace the slow, 1 TB 5400 rpm internal hard drive inside the mini with a fast, 256 gig Samsung 840 Pro SSD. That internal 1 TB is inside a nice, slim external case, and I take it with me whenever we travel, to use with my MacBook Air.
