Returning to LinuxCNC After 10+ yrs, Questions on Old Mesa Hardware & New Builds

It’s been a little over 10 years since I last used LinuxCNC; back then it was for a one‑off prototyping project at work. Now that I’m retired, I’m thinking about getting back into it for some hobby projects.While going through some old boxes, I found some MESA cards I had kept as spares: 5I22, 7I33TA, and 3 × 7I42TA. They were stored properly and should be in good condition. I’m not sure how current this generation of hardware is anymore, and I’m reluctant to start a new build around something that is obsolete. Before I decide what to do with them, I wanted to ask: do these boards still have practical value for anyone running older systems? If so, I’d likely sell them rather than let them sit unused.As for new projects, I’m considering a few possibilities:

• 3‑axis router, for wood and softer materials. Likely steppers, though I may look at servos depending on what I decide for requirements.
• I have a CO₂ Iradion laser + PSU, new in the box. Could be a candidate for a laser cutter/engraver build, or I may just try to sell it if there’s still a market, as my primary interest is the router.
• Guitar pickup winder, something I’ve always wanted to build, and a simple way to get back into LinuxCNC.

Before I dive into researching current LinuxCNC‑based routers, laser systems, or pickup winders (does anyone know of one), I figured I’d ask here first. Any pointers on modern hardware choices, project examples, or insight into whether the MESA boards I have are still useful would be appreciated.

Moved to "driver boards".
I am pretty sure they are perfectly usable, but you should wait for someone with more authority to reply as i have never actually used any of those.
Thank you.

While the 5i22 is marked as "obsolete" on Mesa's web site. I think that has more to do with the fact that they can no longer be purchased new, and that new one's can't be made due to components being out of production. Functionally I think they are still supported by Linuxcnc, and the most difficult part of using one would be finding a motherboard with a PCI slot (not that hard). I don't know that the 5i22 was ever very popular with Linuxcnc due to the fact that they were rather expensive, a bit overkill, and there were/are much cheaper options from Mesa. (I never used one.)

Good used PC's with PCI slot:
HP Z400
HP Z600
There are others, but these are very, very good, and very cheap.
Edit:
Z400 here still goes for around 100Euro, while Z600 i got last year for roughly 35 Euro a piece, despite being a dual Xeon machine with more RAM and more everything. Z400 is still called "gaming PC" here, hence the price.
Both are very high quality workstations and worth every penny.

PS. If I happened to have a 5i22 and daughter/breakout boards to go with it, I would be more inclined to try to use it than to try to sell it. Especially if I were planning a Linuxcnc related project.

Yeah, I was starting to think the same, but still need to do a bit more digging regarding drivers and firmware tonight. I just built myself a new PC last year and still have the old one with a couple PCI slots... Seems like a more modern MESA setup would be Ethernet based nowadays (for my use case), but using the 5i22 would still get me going with Linuxcnc again, even though it is overkill, and many of the skills I develop would likely transfer to a more modern setup for the next project.

No need to find an ancient board with a pci slot. PCIe to PCI adapter works also, here is my controller with 5i25, still working fine.
Adapter is "ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1083/1085 PCIe to PCI Bridge (rev 04)".
Built into an old topfield 5100 case