Over the past few years ive gotten desktops from various smaller thrift stores but not i feel like i have too many and im not sure what to so with them? Do i save them and turn them into a bugger project? Do i make a nas out of one of them? Im stumped theres so many things to do with a pc that i dont know where to start, or if this is even the right place to post in?
I pretty much saved theses from e-waste and scalpers but most of the machines are devices nobody wants or has a issue.
Repair what’s broken, slap Linux on them and donate to charities.
Yeep there are quite a few of these that get them into the hands of disadvanteged people or underfunded schools and such.
This.
If you’re anywhere near PDX,
Cheap Linux desktops for a charity?
A nas or home server with one of them is a great idea
I have some hardware from like 2008 running my entire home’s infrastructure. Jellyfin, Kavita, home automation, etc.
Explore weird OSs! I got an old Celeron D workstation just for playing around with weird old operating systems.
Its got a 32 bit bios but 64 bit celeron, so the grub stuff has been fund 😅
IMHO fix whatever you can, donate it all locally (HackerSpace, RepairCafe, Linux non-profit, etc) as there are quite a few people dedicated to refurbishing computers for schools, people who need a computer to find work, etc.
Then for the tinkering aspect, keep one, that’s enough.
Honestly even 1 isn’t really required. Pretty much everything listed here can be done more efficiently without an actual physical computer :
- your current computer can be a server, just turn off the screen or even accept (which I’d argue is a fair assumption) that at night it will be off. If you want external access put WireGuard or another VPN on it.
- Want to test distributions or anything else? QEMU or containers, no need for actual hardware
For any machines that are too inefficient to be worth continuing to compute with, you could at least save the power supplies for electronics projects. I’ve got some 12V addressable RGB Christmas lights being powered by an old ATX power supply, for example.
First of all: get rid of the broken ones. You’re not doing anything with the running systems, so there’s no need to hang on to the ones that don’t run.
Next, make a list of the things you want to do and start doing them.
If you’re worried about power consumption, don’t be. If you’re still worried about power consumption, get an inline watt meter (a kill-a-watt), take some measurements, do the math and feel at ease. If you don’t feel at ease, look up wake on lan. You can have powered down computers turn back on when they get a packet so you don’t need to worry about power consumption.
When you feel like you’ve done enough stuff, get rid of the computers you’re not using.
If you want something out from the ordinary, maybe build a retro gaming/tech museum and make it open for the public. You can even host events like gaming competitions, or thematic presentations. Charge a small make up for the costs, and maybe you can even make it your living later in life.
A lot, depending on your interests and the hardware itself. I’m running a NAS (TrueNAS) on an old machine that also runs a bittorrent client and immich as TrueNAS “apps.” I’m running an *arr stack and jellyfin on another old machine. I’ve got another old machine running an i2p router, hyphanet node, and a few other services. In the past, I’ve used old machines as routers (pfsense), openhab/home assistant machines, game servers, ZoneMinder server, etc.
I recently turned every old junker and some nicer ones into a Harvester cluster. The really old ones I use as cold storage devices that I actually shut off when I don’t need them.
If less than 10 years old they’re probably usable with some upgrades here and there. Finding a use for them is harder. Maybe just get them working and give them to friends who can use them.
What kind of machines are we talking about here?
A recent-ish tiny/mini/micro is a vastly different answer than a kaypro luggable.
Mostly dell optiplex desktops with ddr3 from the windows 7 era. Or whatever neat looking device i could find.
Potentially 1st to 3rd (mayyyybbbeeee 4th) gen Intel iX series. On the edge of useful for common tasks. Can support most DEs, but not necessarily a great experience depending on what you want running.
Best use for them is going to be light server tasks, but just to mention, latter versions were drastically more efficient, so you may pay more in a power bill than it would cost to look for more recent ewasted hardware. I generally pick up 6th gen or newer, for reference, though I have a 4th gen doing… Something. I think all thats on there is some webserver stuff, DNS, etc.
Could also be usable as a kids PC for gcompris, emulation for the less modern environments, etc. If you would consider a raspberry pi, its a solid fit.
Without more spec details it would be tough to say more.
Solar panels and cryptocurency mining
Explain the former
Go to a local solar shop and give them money.
Goodwill has a recycling partner that can take most e-waste .
