Long time computer hobbyists- what do i do with my tub of cables?

[Ronstang]

Point is, you never know when some of that "junk" will suddenly be useful.

That is why I am going to keep a few things like extra mice and such but why do I need 20 various speed old ATA CD drives? Granted I think I about 7 of them are old Plextor models that probably do digital audio extraction better than the new SATA drives but I don't want one of those dinosaurs taking up space in my computer.

 

[bbhaag]

You could list it on Ebay or Craiglists as a lot sale. You could try parting it out here on Anandtech in the FS/T forum or parting it out on Ebay. That sounds like a pain the ass......if only their was a chemical reaction that could strip the plastic off the wires leaving only bare metal.....hmmmm. Then you could easily recycle the metal and turn it into cash.

 

[wirednuts]

fire is a chem reaction

no i wouldnt, but i couldnt sell it online as a lot. i can pick it up, but im 6'4" 210 and its still heavy as shit. no way its under 70lbs.

i think the best way would be to either go to a popular flea market for a few weeks, or setup a store in my yard in advertise on cl.

it makes me wonder... if i did that and sold each item for an average of $3, and i have 300 items (at least), theres a grand right there

 

[The Boston Dangler]

You could list it on Ebay or Craiglists as a lot sale. You could try parting it out here on Anandtech in the FS/T forum or parting it out on Ebay. That sounds like a pain the ass......if only their was a chemical reaction that could strip the plastic off the wires leaving only bare metal.....hmmmm. Then you could easily recycle the metal and turn it into cash.

and if i saved and included all my silver and copper soldering scraps, i'd still lose money melting it down.

http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/576-gold-silver-cpu.html

 

[bbhaag]

Yeah....dipping each wire in 1000ml of hca wasn't exactly what I meant. That article is handy but there are far more efficient ways.
And wirednuts. Who said anything about fire? I was simply giving you options.:sneaky: Parting it out on here or Ebay is probably the most efficient way to go.

 

[CZroe]

1 tub?

Try making it a couple boxes worth then get back to us

I have mine organized. More than one box of laptop adapters, a box for video cables (VGA, component, HDMI, RCA, etc.), a box for earbuds, a box for power cables, a box for IDE cables, another for SATA...

This. Oh, and I've been looking in them occasionally for the last few months for slot 1/slot A coolers to use in a motorcycle project, but I haven't excavated to that layer of strata yet.

I am starting to get frustrated. If anyone stumbles across theirs and wants to exchange junk for the cost of shipping, PM me.

 

[Childs]

I have tubs of stuff like this. I even have one tub dedicated to old disc burners. Just keep it, you never know when you'll need any of it...

 

[rudeguy]

I purge every couple of years. I just moved, so I purged a ton of old stuff.

Good thing I did. Turns out I had 4 hdmi cables and 3 mico usb cables I had no idea that I owned.

 

[Crono]

I purge every couple of years. I just moved, so I purged a ton of old stuff.

Good thing I did. Turns out I had 4 hdmi cables and 3 mico usb cables I had no idea that I owned.

Micro USB cables are a good item to stash. I used to have a ton, but ended up giving many away to friends and acquaintances who lose theirs.

Aside from Apple, most mobile devices now use micro USB. A lot better now than the early and mid 2000s when there were so many different standards.

 

[Ichinisan]

I have tubs of stuff like this. I even have one tub dedicated to old disc burners. Just keep it, you never know when you'll need any of it...

I share your hoarding instinct when it comes to computer parts and accessories.

 

[rudeguy]

Micro USB cables are a good item to stash. I used to have a ton, but ended up giving many away to friends and acquaintances who lose theirs.

Aside from Apple, most mobile devices now use micro USB. A lot better now than the early and mid 2000s when there were so many different standards.

Those are beside the one connected to my computer, the one in my work bag, the one connected to the charger in the living room and the other charger in my bedroom.

Can you tell I have an Android

 

[Crono]

Those are beside the one connected to my computer, the one in my work bag, the one connected to the charger in the living room and the other charger in my bedroom.

Can you tell I have an Android

Lol, similar situation for me. Two in my bedroom, one in my office/computer room, one in my car, one at work. Use it for my Windows Phone (HTC Trophy) and Nexus 7.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

I had quite a lot of cables at one point as well. I still have quite a lot, but I got rid of a lot recently as well. The thing that got me was moving. When I was packing to move I sorted through all of the cables and forced myself to get rid of things I couldn't honestly justify. Got rid of two big black garbage bags worth of wires. Still have probably 1.5 garbage bags worth of wires remaining.

 

[Rumpltzer]

I sold a friends 10 year-old Dell with Pentium 4, 40GB and 768MB for $40. I tossed in a PS2 keyboard and PS2/serial ball mouse that I had laying around, and the guy was thrilled to be getting some free stuff.


No idea what I'll be doing with my parallel port printer cables in the future... but they're there just in case.

 

[rudeguy]

Lol, similar situation for me. Two in my bedroom, one in my office/computer room, one in my car, one at work. Use it for my Windows Phone (HTC Trophy) and Nexus 7.

[epeener war]
oh yea...

well I also carry a spare battery with me.

 

[Crono]

[epeener war]
oh yea...

well I also carry a spare battery with me.

I have to start doing that as well. A friend of mine carries around 3 spare batteries for his phone. Pretty awesome to have that during a blackout or emergency.

 

[CZroe]

I have to start doing that as well. A friend of mine carries around 3 spare batteries for his phone. Pretty awesome to have that during a blackout or emergency.

A coworker picked up my Sony Ericsson EP900 battery charger with BST41 spare battery and started asking what it was. When I told her it was a spare battery for my phone, she still acted confused until I told her what the black sliding-door housing was: A gang charger so that I always have a charged spare. It also charges with micro USB. I've always thought that it should have a way to charge othe mUSB devices, but I've never seen mUSB-to-mUSB cables (should have an additional standard USB port on the other end). It does show up as a device when I plug it into a PC, so there may be some other logic/function that I don't know about. :hmm:

It can also really help when your phone's USB port gets a bit flaky!

 

[rudeguy]

I have to start doing that as well. A friend of mine carries around 3 spare batteries for his phone. Pretty awesome to have that during a blackout or emergency.

Yep. We don't lose power much, but its always for days when we do.

I'm seriously thinking about switching to Windows Phone. How are you liking yours?

 

[Lanyap]

I have room full of computer parts from all of the hot deals I got in on in the past 10 years. I'm trying to clean out now but it's really time consuming and mentally demanding.

 

[rudeguy]

motion to add "girl" to thread tags

 

[Crono]

Yep. We don't lose power much, but its always for days when we do.

I'm seriously thinking about switching to Windows Phone. How are you liking yours?

It's good. I'm more than familiar with iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, so I really get to compare all 3. WP7 is smooth, pretty stable, and there are more than enough really good apps for it - though some of the popular cross platform apps (namely games like "Words With Friends" and its ilk) are only just starting to pop up on Windows Phone. Not really an issue if you are more of a productivity/business user, but there are plenty of games for the OS, anyway. Zune is the biggest draw of the OS for me, since I listen to a ton of music.

I'd say it's probably on par with iOS for me (though I honestly think Windows Phone's Metro UI and live tiles are better, especially with the 7.8 update), and preferable to Android (pre "Jelly Bean") unless you like to heavily customize your phone and want to get apps like emulators. Android is a must if you like to mess around with custom ROMS and sideloading apps, of course.

I was recommending Windows Phone to a lot of friends before, but now I think you should probably wait for Windows Phone 8 if possible. If you happen to run across a good Lumia 900 deal, though, I would say go for it. Still one of the best phones out on the market. Windows Phone is pretty consistent across all the phones I've owned, though (Dell Venue Pro, Lumia 700, HTC Trophy).

 

[Hugo Drax]

I know your pain.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

I have room full of computer parts from all of the hot deals I got in on in the past 10 years. I'm trying to clean out now but it's really time consuming and mentally demanding.

I demand pics.

 

[spittledip]

Some metal scrapping places will pay you money for the bit of copper in those cords.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Some metal scrapping places will pay you money for the bit of copper in those cords.

all of those cables scrapped won't pay for 1 cable. and then you'll get even less when you discover copper-clad aluminium.