G
g4mer
AMD Athlon 64bit 3000+ .1.8GHz, 1.5GB DDR1, GeForce 9500GT, MSi k8N NEO4...
Nope, thats my current PC.
Nope, thats my current PC.
Weekend Open Forum: Finding a use for old hardware
- Thread starter Matthew DeCarlo
- Start date
Benny26
Posts: 1,393 +72
All my 'old' hardware ends up under my bed. I'm probably sleeping on a few hundred quid.
I must admit, I even collect crap i'll never even use...Like an old burnt out powerbox i picked up the other day with me thinking "hmm...I might need a SATA plug fix in the future".
I think it comes from being in love with PC's yet most of the time not being able to afford the latest stuff.
I must admit, I even collect crap i'll never even use...Like an old burnt out powerbox i picked up the other day with me thinking "hmm...I might need a SATA plug fix in the future".
I think it comes from being in love with PC's yet most of the time not being able to afford the latest stuff.
Lokalaskurar
Posts: 513 +0
'Old machines' around here tend to get a semi-modern Linux OS - and they're as good as new really. I had a 32MHz-computer until recently. The parts got recycled for the tin and copper they contained (presumably also because of the led, refined cadmium, netherrack and God knows what...) at the local PC-depository. And I converted the chassis from AT to ATX just for a 2-month lasting fun.
Having a 3 foot PC on the desk looks totally awesome!
I have a Pentium (original) processor laying around... totally gold plated, weighs about 20 grams... *snaps out of dream about rolling around in cash*...
Old hardware otherwise ends up in the garage. After about 10 months or so, the humidity kicks in and the copper plating is ruined in a cyan fashion.
Having a 3 foot PC on the desk looks totally awesome!
I have a Pentium (original) processor laying around... totally gold plated, weighs about 20 grams... *snaps out of dream about rolling around in cash*...
Old hardware otherwise ends up in the garage. After about 10 months or so, the humidity kicks in and the copper plating is ruined in a cyan fashion.
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Guest
Considering the amount of new hardware coming in, I really have no use for my old hardware. I always keep two fairly new computer systems in my house. When I upgrade the main computer, the leftovers go to the second computer. The leftovers from the second computer usually ends up in storage until there's enough parts to piece together a third computer, which (depending on current value) I'll usually sell to friends for next to nothing or just give away to close family. I suspect this is how most hardware enthusiasts do it.
I must say I was surprised to see a couple of my old 8800GTS 512's decode/encode video (with CUDA) faster than my new GTX 580, even though that's just a single card. There may have been slight differences on the video material being processed, but the GTX 580 computer is running a i7-2600k CPU, and the other one had a i7-860 CPU. Nice to see old hardware still having some use. Not that I care much. I'm a gamer, and those 8800GTS 512's can't run a game like a single GTX 580.
I have to say, though, I like giving away old hardware more than selling it. You can never quite tell how long these parts will last. Nor can you tell how they're being used/treated outside your care. Like say, you sell your computer and the next day the buyer shows up on your door with the thing in hand, demanding a refund, because it didn't survive his overclocking expectations.
I sold a computer to an ***** friend:
I've been in the position of having sold an old (2-3 years by my standards) computer to a friend, only to see it break down within 6 months. First the graphics card overheated, because the ***** didn't pop the lid and clean out the dust once in a while. He got a new graphics card, and shortly after that, the PSU died. I gave him a new one simply because I had one in storage and I had no use for it. After talking to the guy, I learned that he had problems with lightbulbs popping left and right. There was obviously a serious electrical problem in his house, and still I gave him a brand new PSU, just because I felt bad for the guy. After that I don't really know what happened, but the computer broke down again. There was talk of a virus or something. Then the ***** buys a brand new computer, without even consulting me, the one guy he knows who could make sure he got a fair deal and max value for his money! S.M.R.T. I even told him when he bought my old computer that what he paid the most for, was the Chieftec case, PSU, WD Raptor HDD, Blu-Ray, etc. Most of the value was in components that has nothing to do with the gaming performance of a computer. I explained this to him, and yet he paid the asking price, which was a good deal, knowing that he would get a computer he could EASILY UPGRADE! Hell, I'd be the one upgrading it for him, as usual, for free. The case and the PSU complies with the ATX standard requirement for new motherboards coming out even today! So, naturally, he ignores the possibility of upgrading because he can't do it himself and he no longer trusts me. The new computer he bought was one those sad little HP complete package, factory-built systems I wouldn't have thrown after me. And guess what, his "hot" new PC performs with roughly 20% of the gaming power of the computer he got from me in the first place. Oh, and just one more little thing. His new computer died not even a year later. Don't know how. Don't care.
Lesson learned: Never sell used hardware to ******, especially if they're your friends.
-RayRay
I must say I was surprised to see a couple of my old 8800GTS 512's decode/encode video (with CUDA) faster than my new GTX 580, even though that's just a single card. There may have been slight differences on the video material being processed, but the GTX 580 computer is running a i7-2600k CPU, and the other one had a i7-860 CPU. Nice to see old hardware still having some use. Not that I care much. I'm a gamer, and those 8800GTS 512's can't run a game like a single GTX 580.
I have to say, though, I like giving away old hardware more than selling it. You can never quite tell how long these parts will last. Nor can you tell how they're being used/treated outside your care. Like say, you sell your computer and the next day the buyer shows up on your door with the thing in hand, demanding a refund, because it didn't survive his overclocking expectations.
I sold a computer to an ***** friend:
I've been in the position of having sold an old (2-3 years by my standards) computer to a friend, only to see it break down within 6 months. First the graphics card overheated, because the ***** didn't pop the lid and clean out the dust once in a while. He got a new graphics card, and shortly after that, the PSU died. I gave him a new one simply because I had one in storage and I had no use for it. After talking to the guy, I learned that he had problems with lightbulbs popping left and right. There was obviously a serious electrical problem in his house, and still I gave him a brand new PSU, just because I felt bad for the guy. After that I don't really know what happened, but the computer broke down again. There was talk of a virus or something. Then the ***** buys a brand new computer, without even consulting me, the one guy he knows who could make sure he got a fair deal and max value for his money! S.M.R.T. I even told him when he bought my old computer that what he paid the most for, was the Chieftec case, PSU, WD Raptor HDD, Blu-Ray, etc. Most of the value was in components that has nothing to do with the gaming performance of a computer. I explained this to him, and yet he paid the asking price, which was a good deal, knowing that he would get a computer he could EASILY UPGRADE! Hell, I'd be the one upgrading it for him, as usual, for free. The case and the PSU complies with the ATX standard requirement for new motherboards coming out even today! So, naturally, he ignores the possibility of upgrading because he can't do it himself and he no longer trusts me. The new computer he bought was one those sad little HP complete package, factory-built systems I wouldn't have thrown after me. And guess what, his "hot" new PC performs with roughly 20% of the gaming power of the computer he got from me in the first place. Oh, and just one more little thing. His new computer died not even a year later. Don't know how. Don't care.
Lesson learned: Never sell used hardware to ******, especially if they're your friends.
-RayRay
Technochicken
Posts: 716 +2
I have a lot of old hardware sitting in my closet. Sometimes I pull connectors off them like fan headers from motherboards, and I reuse heatsinks for electronics projects. I also have re-purposed old PSU's as bench power supplies.
G
Guest
How about an HP Vectra desktop with P3-300 Mhz processor running Win98?
Mizzou
Posts: 783 +0
Since my son is also a PC enthusiast I generally pass along components to him whenever I do a significant upgrade. From time to time a friend will decide to build a rig of his own, so I'll sell spare components for a song to help get them started. In the end, I'm a world class pack rat and have boxes and boxes of parts that will likely continue to sit in the basement and gather dust.
Inspiring, different and interesting discussion! 
I like to keep spare parts around as backup, incase a component in my main PC breaks. I use my main PC both for study-related work as well as for gaming, with the latter increasingly consisting of good old classics, so I don't upgrade that frequently any longer, resulting in me not really having that many "new old" (few years old) components lying around. My last full PC I donated to the folks, and it still works just fine as a desktop for e-mail, word-processing and browsing; Athlon 64 3500+, 1GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, 6600GT. I tend to use older HDD's for storing data that I don't access frequently. They tend to fail after 3-4 years of moderate use.
I don't have more than one desktop assembled at any one time. Coupled with a laptop for that seems to cover my computing needs just fine.
I like to keep spare parts around as backup, incase a component in my main PC breaks. I use my main PC both for study-related work as well as for gaming, with the latter increasingly consisting of good old classics, so I don't upgrade that frequently any longer, resulting in me not really having that many "new old" (few years old) components lying around. My last full PC I donated to the folks, and it still works just fine as a desktop for e-mail, word-processing and browsing; Athlon 64 3500+, 1GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, 6600GT. I tend to use older HDD's for storing data that I don't access frequently. They tend to fail after 3-4 years of moderate use.
I don't have more than one desktop assembled at any one time. Coupled with a laptop for that seems to cover my computing needs just fine.
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Guest
well a recycling fee just came into effect to junk old computers tv and other electronics 2 years ago. now they are raising the costs to dispose of the old useless electronics its still only pennies per kilogram but I can see the future now. "100.00 per computer is coming keyboard,mouse and monitor extra."
so my advice get rid of the stuff now while you can or somebody is in the near future is going to call that stuff hazardous waste and charge you an arm and a leg to get rid of it.
hell some of the net books that are coming out are twice as powerful than a couple of computers I have in my house and they sell those things for less than 300.00 and take up 1/10 of the size and power requirements
so my advice get rid of the stuff now while you can or somebody is in the near future is going to call that stuff hazardous waste and charge you an arm and a leg to get rid of it.
hell some of the net books that are coming out are twice as powerful than a couple of computers I have in my house and they sell those things for less than 300.00 and take up 1/10 of the size and power requirements
...I wish i could tell u all that i recycle and revive my old parts for a better life then what state they are in right now just holding my carpet in place so the damn bastard wont attack me. But the truth be told i am the guy that ppl call when they are fixing pc´s of almost any age.....because i most likely have that thingy they need, somewhere in my personal universe of awsomeness....of pc scraps......
....so now u know what i do with any tech related items, i salvage and i belive i have a drawer full of really old cables aswell.....
....so now u know what i do with any tech related items, i salvage and i belive i have a drawer full of really old cables aswell.....
Build into a media centre and sell off for upgrade money
G
Guest
The PC hardware manufacturers should start to recycle such scrap or old parts as part of their eco politics. They should get these parts as soothing rate (%) of the new hardware, we buy! This is a real incentive for us to recycle and they have a real opportunity to achieve through an investment in that direction. Every company eco politics lead to success somehow affecting all related directions!
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Guest
This is why I think foolish to have everything integrated in the motherboard.
If we had a PCI-express x4 (or so) card for all SATA, USB, 1394, etc. motherboard would be cheaper and wouldn't be such a waste to throw it all away when upgrading
If we had a PCI-express x4 (or so) card for all SATA, USB, 1394, etc. motherboard would be cheaper and wouldn't be such a waste to throw it all away when upgrading
G
Guest
Yes ... the future is in the modular design!
G
Guest
Have a P4 3.0 running Mandriva Linux (I've always had a Linux box form the Debian days) as a server for my house hold, printing, storage, file sharing,...24/7 and never needs a reboot
captaincranky
Posts: 19,684 +8,825
Every once in a while, a "guest" posts something so grandiosely absurd that it needs to be dealt with.
The reason that SATA controllers, modems, ethernet LAN adapters, multi channel sound adapters, and VGA are built into the motherboard, is to control price, not to raise it.
Competition between manufacturers places pressure on them to put more features into a motherboard, to offer good price vs. performance.
Were we to go back to the old ways of separate items, the price would go up, not down.
Incidentally, the cost of all electronics has gone down dramatically, not up. It's the only venue where a dollar is almost worth a dollar. Consider, you can buy a decent motherboard for a hundred bucks, or you can take the same money and buy a pair of basketball sneakers with some a**h***'s name on them for the same money. Now answer a simple question, which item is harder to produce, and which has a higher start up investment?
Really, well then the future passed you by, and you missed it completely.
The desktop PC, is and has been modular for years. But all the new stuff that you simply can't live without, like iPhones that you can't even change the battery, netbooks, and what ever other POS "portable device" you care to name, are certainly NOT. In fact, if they're not thrown away when they break, you almost have to send them back to China for, "refurbishment"!
In fact, most electronics have become throwaways, beings as the cost of bench repair far exceeds the value of a replacement.
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Guest
My old Dual Core Athlon S939 is currently my media PC.
Couldn't bear to toss it out, I cut my teeth on that thing.
So much UT..........
I think S939 and 478 are pretty much binable these days, which is a shame,
but in our throwaway world, replacement parts have gone the way of the Dodo.
I have "Liquid Nailed" about 40 MoBo's to the wall inside my shed.
Does that count as recycling?
Couldn't bear to toss it out, I cut my teeth on that thing.
So much UT..........
I think S939 and 478 are pretty much binable these days, which is a shame,
but in our throwaway world, replacement parts have gone the way of the Dodo.
I have "Liquid Nailed" about 40 MoBo's to the wall inside my shed.
Does that count as recycling?
captaincranky
Posts: 19,684 +8,825
I suppose if that's what you consider "paneling", it does.
Are you sure it's not the solvents in the "Liquid Nails" that intrigue you?
G
Guest
Well im planning to convert my old ADM 3000+ into and airbrush booth using the PSU to run the case fans and some lights. Will modify the side cover with an hinge and put down a kitchen fan filter to trap all the paint. If the pc itself survives ill hook my old Sony 17" CRT and a pair of speakers to it
G
Guest
My wife gets my "hand-me-downs" for her rig when I upgrade, and I upgrade a lot so she has a nice PC! When I have enough leftover to build a working PC I build it, put Ubuntu on it, and donate it to charity or local schools. Usually donate a least 3 PC's a year.
A year ago a cleaned out my basement cabinets and filled four full 55 gallon garbage cans of VGA video cards, 20-80MB hard drives, ISA controllers, old sound and network cards etc.. Not to mention about a hundred old books etc. And now it's almost ready to be cleaned out again! Yeah, I have a serious habit.....
PS: all components were disposed of properly...
A year ago a cleaned out my basement cabinets and filled four full 55 gallon garbage cans of VGA video cards, 20-80MB hard drives, ISA controllers, old sound and network cards etc.. Not to mention about a hundred old books etc. And now it's almost ready to be cleaned out again! Yeah, I have a serious habit.....
PS: all components were disposed of properly...
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