Uses For Old Hardware/Computer?

So I was given a Pentium 4 desktop to do with what I wish (I realize I'm not posting in the desktop review area, but the participation here is much greater and figured I'd have better luck). I'd like to turn this into a dedicated firewall and was wondering if anyone had any experience doing this. It's not necessary I do this, but I have a perfectly good desktop sitting around not being used and wanted to use it for something. Also, if you have any ideas of what else I could use this computer for I'm all ears. I don't think I'd get much use out of individual components, but who knows.

Mods, I apologize if this is in the wrong subforum and I understand if it's moved.

 

Download/file server? That's what my old D600 was when I repurposed it.

 

media server, low power file/download server.

if there's really no use for you you could donate it to help out a school

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Yeah, I am starting to lean towards donating it to someplace that can use it or just run it 24/7 for something like folding@home.

 

Wouldn't be sure if it'd be any good for F@H... If that it'd need at least an okay desktop GPU (something like a GeForce GT 430, but I suspect that a P$ wouldn't support it).

Best bet would be to either turn it into something interesting for your house (firewall, router, file server, whatnot) or donate it to an organization or a family member (or friend) who needs a computer for basic stuff.

 

I built a water cooled overclock p4 machine not too long ago. i use it for gaming, that's right gaming it plays GTA SA and Age of Empires REALLY well. It also surfs the internet and plays youtube videos decently too.

Nothing like goofing off at the office and running over hookers.

 

I'd donate it to Goodwill or another such charity, maybe a needy public school. That way someone who needs it will have it, and you can deduct the market value from your taxes.

 

This. I work for a charter school system and we would gladly take donated old computers that we refurbish and re-purpose to schools that can't afford new hardware. Even though most of our donated stuff is stuff I don't really want to use and they are a pain to re-purpose, it at least gives them a few more lifecycles and also help out children education in need.

With that said, you can always just use old machines as small servers or file storaging systems. I would only E-Waste then if they are broken or totally outdated (Pentium 4 before or for AMD Athlon XP before).

 

My problem with older machines is that the performance to power consumption ratio is pretty low. I've held on to an old Shuttle with a single core Sempron and nVidia GT 6600 GPU with Windows 98 for "backwards" compatability. Problem is it consumes about 150W at load for something that could be managed by a basic cell phone at a couple watts. I would hate to leave that thing running just as a Firewall or file server.

 

Hmmmm dare I say it? You can sell it on the street and possibly get more than what its worth for it.

People think they have to pay over 500$ for a good computer, so they're usually willing to pay 100$ or so for something that works, if they need it.

 

Yeah, I'd he hesitant to use it as some type of 24/7 server. Tech from the P4 era wasn't exactly the most energy-efficient, and although it'll probably have no issue with the task you're asking it to do, it'll use a lot more electricity than a modern computer to do it.

 

I use a dual prestonia xeon server 24/7 then again i keep at a pc shop and the bill is ridiculous no matter what.

 

File server/media server with DLNA capability (if You use smartphone/tablet).