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.
If you’re anywhere near PDX,
This.
Turn them into a little server that you can host self hostable services on
Put Linux on them and give them away to people who need them?
Cheap Linux desktops for a charity?
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
I have some hardware from like 2008 running my entire home’s infrastructure. Jellyfin, Kavita, home automation, etc.
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.
Turn them into a Kebernetes or a Proxmox cluster.
And use CEPH as your filesystem.
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.
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.
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.
I’m in a similar boat. I use old computers for spare parts and hobby projects (e.g. I did Linux From Scratch on an old second-hand Thinkpad I picked up on a whim). I think cheap second hand computers are great for tinkerers e.g. you can flash custom firmware without worrying about bricking the mobo.
You could also use them as servers if you have any services you want to host.
Also if you truly have no use for them, fix them up, install something like Linux Mint on them, and give them away.
Rip the parts out and pour epoxy all over them and make sure there are no Bibles in the pour.
Have giant tabletop made of computer
I’ve never seen one in person but they look soooo sick online
Sacrilege. Op, if you want Bibles in the pour, you can certainly do that. I’d recommend Leviticus.
Lmao wth autocorrect, the Bible was supposed to be bubble.
There should be a funny autocorrects community here lol
I know, I know. I’m just busting your Bibles.
Well, he did say he wanted a bugger project. So, Leviticus sounds appropriate.
To expand on this thought, I take broken electronics and make what I call art from them. They already come with neat patterns and colors, some surfaces are dull, some are shiny, they have the added effect of generating shadows with their shapes and can easily be modified in various ways. I’m sure there’s probably copyright issues and health hazards so I’m unlikely to ever put it out on display but I feel they add a sort of dirty cyberpunk look to my apartment. For an example, this is my “Love bug” that hangs out on top of my desktop tower, offering its broken hearts to whomever wants it. Made from a broken GTX 7800. https://i.imgur.com/ySS3fes.jpeg
Install Win7 to make retro gaming machine?
I a year you might have an agent to manage them all. They could be edge devices, or different nodes in your/your ai’s work flow. Don’t get rid of them unless you hate AI, or for good causes.
