BRoughley488

Look up samba share tutorials, pretty easy to setup.
 
https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/install-and-configure-samba#3
 
You want samba for most local network windows file transferrs, much better than ftphttps://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/install-and-configure-samba#3

I'm always up for the idea of fixing broken stuff and it's not like you lose anything other than some time and a wee bit of solder giving it a go. That is to say, I approve of the plan. ?

You could try contacting Asus to see if they have them available though I doubt they will, it's probably a case of reverse engineering it yourself. 

There are some sites where you can buy the schematics, but whether they have the schematics you want is anyone's guess. Also, whether you're willing to pay what they are asking for the schematics is up to you.

If it's acrylic based then acetone should do the trick but I really have no idea what it's made of so you'll need to research it

Yes that could be it, as often when Jerry does it he can peel it off, instead of scratching it. I might try what u suggested thanks 

Last night I almost hit the buy button:
 
Xeon X5690 (6 cores 12 threads) 6gb DDR 3 ram, no HDD, no OS $190 shipped Dell Workstation.  Just check Newegg for "X5690 workstation" - in this case this is a proprietary mobo.  You can even get them for around $220 or so with a drafting GPU to use short term.
 
EDIT the one I was looking at last night is gone, however this would be next runner up for me:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAC0F7F36675&cm_re=x5690_workstation-_-1VK-0001-1FEV2-_-Product

The newer Ryzen Dell desktops are quite good contenders for expandability.
Standard PSU size (its an actual recommendation to change the PSU in those, the original one is not great), standard PSU connectors, X370 (locked) chipset motherboard that if my mind serves right is also standard ATX, overall a nice machine for upgrades in the future.

If you want something a little more "special" you could always get yourself an LGA 1156 prebuilt and upgrade it with a cheapo Xeon from eBay. Thye OC pretty well and are still around 7th gen performance with the right overclock. 

Maybe, but the biggest problems with prebuilts are the PSU and the case. Just make sure these are good enough for a gpu upgrade. Look for any 8th gen cpu, should be good enough for 1080p.

I'm pretty sure Optiplexes come in different sizes... I've seen some with 6th gen i7's though, something like that will be your best bet. I don't know how the used market is there in Britain but they're all over the place in the US. a lot of i5's and i7-2600s though so just whatever fits your budget. Honestly an i7-2600 will still be fine for 1080p gaming. same with a slightly newer i5