Whether you’re a PC gamer or a techie, chances are you will accumulate enough old hardware every few years to build an extra PC with.
However, sometimes parts are so old it’s difficult to find continued use for them, or you just don’t have space for another PC in the house.
With a bit of time and some DIY spirit, your old PC components need not go to waste.
Here are a few ideas for what you can do with your old stuff.
Build a media player
If you have the space for another PC and the need for a media player or server, then this is one of the simpler options.
Just repurpose your old gear into a machine that sits on your network and does things while your other computers sleep.
A media player is one of several low-powered single purpose computers you can build.
Some others are: a legacy gaming station, network storage and file/print server, dedicated firewall, Tor node, and an automatic Linux distro compiler and server.
Make or assemble an arcade cabinet
If you’re up for something a little more involved than an average low-powered PC build, you can build an arcade cabinet for your old PC components.
Donate spare CPU cycles to science
When your spare PC isn’t downloading files or playing back media, you can donate its spare clock cycles to science.
Join World Community Grid, download BOINC, and get crunching on problems that might help cure cancer or AIDS.
External drives
If you can’t or don’t want to build a spare PC, you can cannibalise your old rigs for parts.
For the cost of an enclosure, you can have external hard or optical drives.
PC case aquarium
Should you not be looking to knock your old PCs down for parts, Instructables is an excellent source of inspiration for repurposing old electronics in other projects.
One such project is using a dead PC to house an aquarium.
If you have the DIY chops, you can even combine this with a media server or legacy gaming station project and have the aquarium inside a working machine.
Circuit board coffee table
If you can’t find something useful for your old circuit boards to do, you can always turn them into a work of art, encased in a glass-paneled coffee table.
Bracelet and earrings
Why not make that special someone a set of earrings or a bracelet for next Valentines Day, or an upcoming anniversary?
Guitar pick
Circuit boards also make for solid guitar picks. If you prefer a more rigid pick, that old RAM SIMM might be just the material you needed.
Motherboard lamp shade
If you have four equally sized motherboards lying around, or boards you can cut so they can form a square or triangle, why not try your hand at this lamp shade?
Recycle
If none of these projects, or anything else on Instructables and Lifehacker tickle your fancy, you can always dispose of your old junk.
eWasa lists a number of recycling centres that will take on your e-Waste, while Desco operates drop-off points around the country in partnership with Massmart.
Incredible Connection also occasionally runs e-waste promotions, allowing you to trade in old gear for credit towards something new.
Desco’s map of e-waste drop-off points is embedded below.
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