When you build a new system, what do you do with your old parts?

[misle]

When you build a new system, what do you do with your old parts? Sell them? Throw them away? Use them for target practice?

I have a bunch of old crap laying around and I'm about to upgrade my current system, so I'll have even more crap lying around. What should I do with this stuff?

 

[Meghan54]

Depends on their age, etc.

What my usual method is: main rig gets upgraded, leftover parts are put into my secondary desktop---if the parts are definite upgrades over what's in there already.

Then, the rest of the parts are slapped into a "new" system, usually meaning a new, cheapie case, inexpensive power supply, optical drive. Build it up, sell it on Craigslist. Typically do better that way than piecing it out for little gain.

Just did this scenario last week, but it was a more complete "new" upgrade of the secondary system. It got a new i5/750 cpu, P55 motherboard, DDR3 memory.

Old mb, RAM, cpu (E8200, 4GB Kingston, Gigabyte P965 mb) went into a $20 case with a $25 power supply (AR), $25 Samsung DVD-RW drive, reused an old hard drive laying around......loaded XP Pro onto it and sold it for $400.

 

[brandonwh64]

MISLE what do you have left over? any AGP cards?

 

[naddicott]

MISLE what do you have left over? any AGP cards?

I'm now looking at reusing some old parts for a system for my brother in law who has been using a workstation with integrated graphics for "gaming". Not sure whether to try to pass a 7800GS AGP card onto him though, I was mostly thinking of passing on the XP license, DVD-RW drive, and the case. I think if I passed on the older HDs, PSU, or motherboard I'd be having a few too many phone calls with my brother in law in the near future.

 

[corkyg]

If I can use them in fixing other people's machines, I keep them I keep lots of "spare parts. Things I don't need I put in my monthly give away bag to Vietnam Vets or other charity pickups.

Cablkes I usually hang in my spare parts closet - I can usually find a cable to fit any requirement.

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Corky-G/cables.jpg

 

[lxskllr]

I save everything. They're good for rehabbing older machines for people, and selling the stuff isn't worth the hassle.

 

[MisterDonut]

I give Ziploc business.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

Was doing this all morning. Drives that were under a gig I smashed with a hammer to ensure they couldn't be tapped. Bye bye.

Pulled the memory, Netword cards, Firewire cards, a modem, duel layer DVD drives and some hard discs. Cases, motherboards and CPU's were all way too old, so they are going to the dump.

Some stuff I salvaged I might use later, maybe. But the memory is a question. Why would I have use of it? Likely I wouldn't, but do I even try and sell it? Do people want older used ram sticks?

For example, I have a Crucial 256mb stick, 266mhz CL2.5 (PC2100U-25330-B1). I also have a 1gig stick of PC3200 CL2.5 (PSD1G400K) and two sticks of Crucial 256mb 184 Pin dimm 32mx64 DDR (BP112BCYM).

WTF do I do with them? No idea. I stuck them in ziplock bags and they are in a drawer. What do you guys do?

 

[ahenkel]

Less than a year old I ebay. Anything older I use to upgrade family and friends computers. If its so old its useless I recycle it.

 

[JackMDS]

If I can use them in fixing other people's machines, I keep them I keep lots of "spare parts. Things I don't need I put in my monthly give away bag to Vietnam Vets or other charity pickups.

This,

.

 

[garritynet]

I keep them, as well as any cheap deals I can get on parts elsewhere and turn them into computers. Then I give them to anyone who does not have one.

 

[adairusmc]

I upgrade every year in the fall typically, so my parts arent -that- old since I stay in the high end spectrum of hardware - so I generally sell them here or to anyone I know interested in them to help pay for the upgrades.

 

[djnsmith7]

For the longest time, I just kept everything in storage containers. It wasn't until last year that I decided to sell everything that was worth selling & I made good money from it. Those folks received good quality parts which still had life left & I put some good cash in my pocket. All that took place right here on AT. I even threw in a few free cables for the heck of it because I knew I wasn't ever going to reuse them. It made me realize how important it is to keep everything in mint condition, regardless of usage frequency.

 

[djnsmith7]

Was doing this all morning. Drives that were under a gig I smashed with a hammer to ensure they couldn't be tapped. Bye bye.

I thought this was funny.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,

I have a lot of machines and they all receive hand-me-downs. I also donate them to family & friends. If it's a particularly good piece of hardware, I sell it at a relatively low price so that I can fund something else for my troubles.

Typically though I use old parts in test beds to try out software/hardware combinations for fun. Or, I use them in one of my servers which I toy around with (but not my primary server, it's hardware doesn't get touched or added to aside from HDD's).

An example is junk that I toss into a test bed to try out Linux, Win 7, Win XP, Win Server 2003 and Win Server 2008. I'll install basic services that I want for a server meant for 24/7 use, run some applications, and set some power settings. I then measure the watt usage with a watt meter at the wall to determine which system is the most energy efficient for what it does. I trade out hardware to see how much of an impact on energy use it has on the total system's use. Things like that.

Very best,

 

[sandorski]

What won't work in new system(Mobo, CPU, and usually RAM) filters dust from the air. Most everything else gets used in new system.

 

[hclarkjr]

When you build a new system, what do you do with your old parts? Sell them? Throw them away? Use them for target practice?

I have a bunch of old crap laying around and I'm about to upgrade my current system, so I'll have even more crap lying around. What should I do with this stuff?

what exactly would you have left over? there are those here on annadtech who thrive on the leftovers of others, not to mention any names :whiste:

 

[JimKiler]

If I can get $10 or more I sell the parts on eBay assuming they do not make a good upgrade in my secondary PC.

It is weird on eBay for video cards the previous gen have too much supply and are not sold for a lot but if you have 2 gen old video cards you can get more money since there is a lot less supply.

Also if you have a AMD socket 939 dual core sell it on eBay, these 5 year old CPU's will easily fetch you $100 or more, I got $150 for mine with 4GB of RAM.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I usually just do a full blown system upgrade when I build so that means even a new case, psu etc then I just use the old one for something else like a server or spare machine etc. When it's beyond usable for me then I usually give it to somebody for free or a very low price.