I was ready to buy upgrade to P_12, had a heap of store-points towards it, when a plumbing disaster in kitchen distracted me.

( Vermin damage to drain pipe within wall !! Ick. Documented over at DA...)

By the time the dust settled, the sealant foam hardened and the soused kitchen units were repaired, I'd had time to look at what P_12 offered.
Or, rather, did not...

I do not use Python macros, so the version change was not so bad. Losing the 'basic' material room would be a problem, as I seem unable to grok 'Cycles' beyond rudiments.
'Eye of Newt & Leg of Toad' !!
As I quipped above, is there a platform-independent 'Cycles for Dummies' in the house ??

"Um, let's see what the updates bring ?"

Six months along, I've now even more store-points waiting, enough for the thumb-drive, too. And I'm checking eg Amazon Books for a non-Blender 'Cycles' text....