Any direction you go should be fine. Since this will be your "archive" machine, you may find it better to go with a completely fresh install, then if you like restore your previously saved configuration backup with usernames, networking, etc.
I've had both 6.1.7 and 6.2.3 on my machines, both are great. One is the previous generation HP N40L, which works straight out of the install using 1.02b/1.03b respectively. If you want the hard drives to hibernate, that may be a reason to stay with 6.1.7 [unless there is new information about hibernation stability in 6.2.3].
If you do decide to roll your old installation forward, make sure you delete the old ".xpenoboot" folder, otherwise 6.2.3 will wreak havoc on your NIC. My upgrade path was 5.2 to 6.1.7 to 6.2.3, but that took a little more time.