I am considering a control system overhaul.

The PC which controls my CNC machine has been having boot up issues over the past week or so. It dates from around 2008 and was pretty old then. A while ago I had overheating problems (my fault on the CPU install) which I then fixed, but recently it won't get started into winXP (the background and some icons appear but that is it) and often trips back around to rebooting. Sometimes I get a blue screen full of lots of text and it lists out the n4_disp.dll which is the graphics driver. I can't see how the file became corrupted as it is not online and is just used to load gcode from a memory stick. As they are pretty cheap I've just dropped a replacement NVidia FX5200 graphics card (used, but working) into the PC but it still has the same problem. I could try a windows repair disc in case it really is a corrupted file, but I am wondering if this is an opportunity. Even more so as my Wife seems vaguely supportive!

Given the age of the machine, the fact I'm using the parallel port into a cheap / free BoB, and have various work-arounds in the control cabinet to prevent false trips, I think it is time for an overhaul.

So skipping past USB and onto Ethernet has led me to Cs-labs or UCCNC. UCCNC is winning at the moment but there is a lot of information to gather up to make an informed choice, especially for the breakout boards. I have been skim reading manuals and forums to get up to speed. The single UCSB looks too small, and the UCBB is much better and not much more money and has more connections. Even better there is an offer from CNCdrive at the moment for opt 1:

opt1:
UC300ETH + UCBB + UCCNC software for £170 (offer until 31st Aug 2021)

opt2:
UC300ETH + UB1 + UCCNC software for £289 [ note that UB1 is made by a 3rd party, although all reports say they work well together ]

So it comes down to UCBB Vs UB1. I like the compact form of the UB1 and the screwless terminals, and may pay a bit of a premium for that, but is there any other functional difference ? I'm thinking in/outs, speed control etc. ?

Thanks