QOTD: What Do You Do With Your Old PCs?

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I have my main computer, and older one made out of old parts as a work/backup computer, and the backup/experimental computer. The rest gets freecycled. I use to have more, but having 7 working machines when you really only use two, and sometimes the third, was a bit much 😀.
 
Scrapped for parts, and left lying around if not used as a secondarys for friends to play LAN at my house...they eventually lie around for long enough they get thrown out, but usually with RAM and HDD's missing =D

Like Megaman, I did at one time have 6-8 computers that could play COD2 anywhere from maxed out (my top 2) all the way to bare minimum. Fun times with friends, but overall not very feasible and most ended up scrapped for parts and thrown out eventually.
 
I have my main gaming rig and my newest laptop that I use regularly. My previous main rig I still have and used to mess with Linux on it. Now it's back to XP and I let my roommate use it to play WoW. I had an older Compaq that I used years ago in my bedroom when I lived with my parents. I gave that to my parents for my mom to use. I've given even older systems away to friends. An even older main rig of mine, I fried the mobo. I reused many of it's parts in the next build. However, I offered the parts (as well as some other spares I had lying around) to my church. Preacher gave me a motherboard, I built another system of it and now it sits in that Church's computer lab. If it still works, I don't throw it away.

I've had various laptops. One I had 3 years ago (15" HP, Sempron 2800), bought it used off eBay and the motherboard fried in a year of owning it so I took it to Hazardous Waste Collection but kept the CPU and RAM. The next one (15" Compaq, Celeron 440M) I bought used from a friend, I had it for 2 years, broke it's monitor and bought a new Compaq (15", Athlon X2 QL-62). Something was wonky with it and it couldn't do things up to my standards so I sold it to a regular customer at the restaurant I worked (was perfect for them). I actually replaced the busted monitor in my old laptop and kept using it. Then my dad bought me a new Toshiba (16", Core 2 Duo of some sort) but it overheated and died within 30 minutes of using it. Returned and swapped it for a new HP (17", Turion X2 RM-74) and gave my old Celeron laptop to my dad. He still uses it.

If it still works, I either find a use for it, or give it to someone who could use it. If something on it breaks, I remove what's usable, and take the useless bits to Hazardous Waste Collection.
 
Set them up as servers, firewall/routers, or give them to the needy. With Xubuntu my scrap-out cutoff is a K6-2/500MHz with 256MB of memory and a 10GB hard drive.
 
So far I've handed the ones I got as a kid to my siblings (my dad had built those out of spare parts found here and there).

My last one was the first one I bought myself and I sold that to a friend in addition to the TV card and graphics card upgrades I got for it.

My current one I'll probably incrementally upgrade and keep some stuff for spare parts.
 
Recycle them into new PCs. Use any possible component that can be reused and put it in the new one. Makes for super cheap PCs. Made two decently fast ones for under $200.
 
I usually turn them into workstations. My last system was an AMD 3500 with 3GB DDR2, which is more then enough to run even Windows 7 with the software I need.

In fact, I'm counting on the money I save from turning them into workstations to buy a new rig 😀
 
Get two or three or ten of the things, rig them all up together and start crunching numbers, folding proteins or searching for aliens. OpenMosix is designed just for that purpose. Now before you start buying pallets of Pentium II machines off PublicSurplus.com, remember that clusters don’t always behave like a single computer. In other words, ten 166Mhz machines are not necessarily as fast as one 1.6Ghz machine, except under certain circumstances. And really, if you daisy-chain ten Pentium Pro machines together in hopes of playing Frozen Bubble on the collection, your electricity bill is going to be horrific 😛
 
It use to be linux, but now my main desktop run linux most of the time. Now its network attached storage or some sort of server. Its always nice to have a backup computer when you have a hardware failure.
 
If it is too old for my uses, I set it up with all sorts of opensource software, and then give it to whoever needs it. (I don't do the work of who needs it, I have someone who finds someone in need for me)

If it is still useful, it becomes part of my lab for awhile.
 
I usually either pull parts from them and reappropriate them, or I give them away after clearing all my data from them, or use them for other purposes, like acting as a file server. I do have one or two sitting in the garage.
 
Just so you know, anything that is too old scavenge parts from can be pretty easily recycled...Best Buy takes them. You have to take the hdd and any other non "removable media" devices out of the system. Its a win-win though, even if you hate Best Buy...the employees look at you in agony when you roll in with a 400lb ancient color laser printer. Its fun, and then the crap is not filling your garage, or garbage cans and its the same as the alternative...going to the dump.

Some things...like CRT monitors...they will charge you $10 BUT then give you a gift card for the exact same amount. I suppose it helps them move the costs around in their favor.

Call ahead to make sure they'll take your crap or haven't discontinued the program but I've taken them tons of UPSs, monitors, printers, and PCs that were too ancient to be useful.
 
I as many others pass on my old? stuff to the rest of the family, and friends. Just recently upgraded my buddy from a 1700+ athalon to a 3200+ athalon 64 system for free.
 
Every time I get a new computer it starts quite the chain reaction. My old one goes to my wife, her's goes to the kids and theirs goes to my mom.

I usually get a new computer about every 3 months at the max (no I am not a gamer....I test things) and this is quite the chore.

The amazing thing is, my mom has been upgraded in baby steps since a dx 66 :) I remember her saying what a difference the computer with "mmx" made lol

After my mom gets the new hand-me-down her old computer gets donated to someone that needs it.
 
Game system -> business system -> office system -> linux system -> mini-server (print - file - network etc) -> parted out on e-Bay.

 
It depends on if it is a complete machine, or if I have just upgraded it.

With components, I sometimes offer them to friends or family who have really old machines, and upgrade them with my used parts. Other times, I just put them in the hazardous waste box.

With full machines, I like to wipe the hard drive, re-install the OS (or load Ubuntu) and donate the machine to a charity.


 
All my old computers are running seti@home. Right down to my P2 400 that is faithfully sitting side by side with my main rig. Any dead non-RMAable hardware is either recycled (in the case of PSUs) or turned into a display piece. I have an AM2 board with CPU and fan mounted above my desk.
 
I am happy that some people still give them away to people that need them. No matter how "out dated" we seem to think they are you would be surprised how many families cant afford to have one (I am only talking about Canada here...I am sure it is worse elsewhere).

The last computer in my "upgrade chain" always goes to my brother-in-law who has a huge waiting list of families that are waiting for one.
 
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