So, you got a new PC? Yay! Congratulations, you must be excited. But what happens to your old man? What’s there for you through thick, thin, and BSOD, just hugs with love and determination?
Buying yourself one of the best computers doesn’t have to mean the end of your old one; there are many things you can do with it. Let’s talk about a few.
My server, your server
Install them all on your server!
An obvious – and very useful – use is an old computer as a file server. Google Drive is useful; it’s convenient, and it’s easier to get started than some server setup yourself, but it has its drawbacks. The most obvious is that it relies on an Internet connection; a home server doesn’t need to be more than your LAN.
Many people use Raspberry Pi for their best home server, but an old desktop or laptop is probably better – faster, and, at the low, low price of free, cheaper than popular cheap Pi. Even an old PC has more disc space than the Pi’s SD card, enough to get started, although later you can add some hard discs.
“Server” sounds like a fancy term, but your server could be as simple as some Samba component. Another option is Nextcloud, which, in their words, is a “productivity platform”, and in our words “like Dropbox”.
More fun than files, however, are – let your mind be blown – games. And open-ended multiplayer games like Valheim, Ark: Survival Evolved, and Minecraft are some of the best PC games you can play with your friends and even better without having to- someone’s message: “um can you put the server down, please…”
All-in-one mega TV and game machine
Speaking of games, it’s fun to play them while sitting in your chair. And also to watch movies while doing the same. There are many programs to help you in these efforts.
One of them is Retroarch, a frontend for emulators, although you can also play native games through it. For the film, you can use Kodi, a media player with an interface designed to be read on a TV, and that can be controlled with a remote control, or a controller.
You can run all of them on Windows 11. A simple solution, however, for those who want to use Kodi can be to install LibreElec, one of the best Linux distros even if its only purpose in life is to run Kodi. Even with that focus, it remains a Linux distro, so there’s no reason why you can’t (with some knowledge) also install Nextcloud or Retroarch.
Recycle or donate
Recycling is another option. Many of the internal components of a PC must be disposed of properly, and there are many options for recycling or donating your old parts.
One sells it online on a marketplace like eBay. It is not necessary to sell only working parts; you can sell defects or broken ones, and people will buy them. You must, of course, explain their situation. This is a great way for you to make sure that every part of your old PC is in good working order, and you can get some money back from it. Win-win.
Another is to donate your PC to charities and organizations whose missions eliminate digital exclusion. Some good organizations in the UK are the Restart Project and The Turing Trust, which pass on used and refurbished PCs to partner organizations to give to families in need. Computers for Charity has certain criteria for its donations, such as ensuring that any donation does not exceed seven years, and the similarly named Computers4Charity has something similar.
Many such organizations exist in the US, such as GivingCenter and Computers with Causes.
Upgrade it
And then, of course, it was never put out to pasture. You might want a shiny new PC, with shiny new features, and you can still get that, on your old PC.
Start by deciding what exactly you want out of it. What do you want it to perform? What do you want to see? What do you want it to do? 4K gaming, fast processing speed, a wonderful wonder? Then research the features you may need to achieve that. So, if your PC has an older gen or low GPU, then you can either go for one of the best graphics cards, or you can opt for one of the best cheap graphics cards. card if you don’t want to break the bank.
It’s also important that you consider the display you want to use for your new PC because you can tailor your build to suit it. If you have one of the best gaming monitors, then you would do well to look at an upgrade to at least the NVIDIA RTX 3070 or AMDs RX5700 XT. Admittedly, these options are expensive, as most of these cards will set you back anywhere between $400 and up to around $1,800 in this climate.
There are also other things to consider: Will the new features fit into your existing case? Do you need to update your PSU to match features? Do you want to use one of the best processors, or put more money for more specialized hardware?
If you want to make sure you don’t miss a detail, check out our article on how to build a PC.
As you know, however, there are many shortcomings in many areas. It’s getting a little slow, but there’s still time to finish.
Whatever you choose to do with your old PC, you’ll find that there are plenty of cool options for you to consider, so don’t feel like you have to throw it in the trash.
