If you’ve recently upgraded your computer or have 1 or 2 lying around, you may wonder what to do with your old PC.
Here are a few ideas on what you could do with your old hardware:
- Find another use for it
- Use it as is or upgrade it as a guest computer.
- Install an older OS to be used as a nostalgia PC.
- Turn it into a server
- Game server
- HTPC
- Media server
- Smart NAS
- Web server
- Gut it
- Mix and match parts to create a “newish” PC.
- Sell the parts individually online.
- If the parts are useful, keep some or all parts as spares.
- Any combination of ideas in this post.
- Give it to a family member
- Most likely, your family isn’t as technical as you are. Your old machine might be able to do everything they would ever need it for.
- Donate it
- Make sure your favorite charity can accept a used computer.
- Otherwise, find a suitable charity online.
- Recycle it
- You can recycle it at Best Buy or another retailer.
- You can also check out the EPA’s website.
- Use it for an art project
- This one is up to you!
If your stuff is super old, reminisce about when it was new and leave a comment on this Things That Show Personal Computing Has Come A Long Way post!