What to do with older PC parts

[marurun]

My PC died today (mobo, psu, or power switch, don't really care to isolate which) so I'm buying a cheapo, budget stopgap PC until I'm employed again and can afford something worth using. But I'll have a number of PC parts which, while not current, might still be useful to someone with an older PC. What should I do with them? They are not current-gen, but they're fine for anyone running an older rig, still, as backup parts or even minor upgrades. Any suggestions?

[schi0249]

Look around for a parts recycler. Some will even pay you if they are reusable. Computer components contain heavy metals which are bad for the environment.

[racketboy]

Depending on what you have, you might want to consider eBay-ing them. Sometimes you can get some quick cash.

[Mozgus]

I'm kind of a pc parts packrat. I only bother selling things that I made make back at least $30 on, but last year I never even got around to doing that. Hell, I may actually go to a parts recycling place because it turns out Zer from these forums works at one near me.

[deathclaw]

Depending on what you have, you might want to consider eBay-ing them. Sometimes you can get some quick cash.

Exactly, sell it on ebay, even if you will not get much money for it..Because if somebody on ebay buys it, it means that he is going to use it and it will be useful for him..so it is much better than throw it to a trash can and polute the enviroment..And you can earn a little cash for it as well as a few positive feedbacks

[elvis]

I just gave away 5 full working systems and over 20 mobo/CPU/RAM combos to a local arcade collecting community (everything from Celeron 300's up to AlthonXP 1800+). It's all stuff I've had lying around for ages that's just cluttering up my games room.

I figured if someone else can use them for something (MAME cabinets seem to be the usual end result), it's better than having them clutter up my house. That, and my wife was starting to get pretty angry at my incessant hoarding.

I considered eBay ($0.01 start and let it ride), but the postage would have been a royal PITA for all those heavy parts, and not worth the time for the few bucks I made off it all. So I put a notice up and said "come get it, first in best dressed". 48 hours later it was all gone.

[marurun]

Not bad ideas. But I managed to resurrect the system in question after all. It just needed a new power supply. It's 3rd in so many years.

[Mozgus]

Not bad ideas. But I managed to resurrect the system in question after all. It just needed a new power supply. It's 3rd in so many years.

Are you using a good surge protector? Not just some $10 white strip, right?

[marurun]

Naturally. No battery backup, though. That's a bit overboard. No, I'm just a cheapskate and tend to buy parts that eventually keel over. Actually, it's the 3rd in 4 years. So the previous ones lasted about 2 years each.

My next PC I will not build myself. It just isn't worth it.

[nikon_62]

Naturally. No battery backup, though. That's a bit overboard. No, I'm just a cheapskate and tend to buy parts that eventually keel over. Actually, it's the 3rd in 4 years. So the previous ones lasted about 2 years each.

My next PC I will not build myself. It just isn't worth it.

Why isn't it worth it? I have always built my own computers and felt that it's worth it.