trying to decide...wait for new 7i76E or get 7i96S

hmmm...ok I'll give that a try THANX!
everytime I try to play with Linux in general like this, it makes my head hurt HAHAHA.

hp elitedesk 800 g3 mini , works great for me with 7i96s.

Ethernet boards require the Preempt-rt kernel, [strike]i do not think there is a 32bit version of it, although i never checked.
I just can not recall reading about it.[/strike]
Edit,
As noted by Andy below, there is a 32bit version of userspace, links bellow.

OK...it looks like I was able to get a 2.7.14 upgraded to 2.8.4.
running the uname -r command as instructed in that link you provided i get:
3.4-9-rtai-686-pae
as i said before I am not smart enough to know the differenc between rtai and preempt-rt.

To use an ethernet board you will need to use the preempt-rt kernel (this is something that I had overlooked, but was noted by Tommylight)

Do you know which OS you are currently running?

If it is Debian Wheezy then follow the instructions here:
linuxcnc.org/docs/2.7/html/getting-start...th_preempt_rt_kernel

(There is a 32-bit uspace build of LinuxCNC 2.8.4 available, I checked, it's here: www.linuxcnc.org/dists/wheezy/2.8-rtpree...space_2.8.4_i386.deb )

Corrected my above post with new info.
Thank you, Andy.

OK...thanx guys appreciate the help. This is way more Linux than I ever expected to get into, but maybe not a bad thing.
so if I understand this correctly I use the instructions in that first link, but add the repository in the second link?
because step 8 in the first link points to a 2.7 repository (see attached screenshot).
 
also step seven references a signing key (see same screenshot)...would it work on the diffrerent repository?
So sorry for all the dumb questions.

oh, by the way...yes Debian Wheezy is the OS as installed from the Linuxcnc 2.7.14 Live CD.

The key is the same for all sections of the LinuxCNC repository

You might end up with Wheezy / Preempt-RT / LinuxCNC-uspace-2.7.14 at the end of that process, but can then re-do the update to 2.8.4

well guys...thanx for your valiant efforts...but this isnt for me. trying to follow the steps as outlined I get many errors...invalid mirror...unable to locate package...etc that I have no idea how to address...so I give up.
as they say, stupid is expensive, and since I cant figure this out I'll just throw money at the problem and buy a new PC.
Again, thanx for your time.