if i was to go smooth stepper i could use more than one breakout bored for auto tool change and other stuff 

Yes.

Tweakie.

thanks thats a big help

An option perhaps worth considering ? http://cnc4pc.com/motion-control/motion-controllers/smooth-stepper/c25-smooth-stepper-terminal-board.html

Tweakie.

Thats what I used is the c25. Nice to attach to the ESS
directly. One cable from the ESS to the PMDX.
Again it just worked for me when I was putting
my system back together.
olf20 / Bob

im just useing a cheap Chinese breakout board $ 7.50 it works good   but the old PCs  are getting hard to get and unreliable would like to get a new PC