PC Hardware in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Things to Do with Old PCs

So what do you do with an old PC that would cost too much to upgrade to current standards? We encounter that question frequently around here. We have everything from the latest multiprocessor boxes to creaking 386s. In fact, our original 1984-vintage IBM PC/XT died only a couple years ago, and it was doing useful work until its untimely demise. Here, in no particular order, are ten useful things to do with an old PC:

Give it to your spouse

In many households, one spouse is a PC power user and the other is much less demanding. She works at home doing serious number crunching and plays Quake for relaxation, while he just checks his email periodically and uses the Web to keep up with the PGA Tour results. Or viceversa. He might be happier having an older system all to himself than he would be sharing the latest, fastest PC. While you’re at it, consider installing a home network, if only to share your Internet connection. You can do so using a traditional wired Ethernet, 802.11 wireless networking, or even Home Phone Line Alliance (HPNA) networking. The cost can be as little as $50 for a couple of decent Ethernet cards and a 100BaseT cable.

Give it to your kids

Younger kids want to play educational games, some of which require a lot of PC, but many of which run just fine on a two- or three-year-old system. Older kids need word processing, web browsing, and email, but may also want to run games, some of which are quite demanding. Before you pass the old system ...