An old PC is a poor, depressing piece of kit. It probably has been through many hours of mayhem with games, gone through deadlines with you, given you headaches with its idiosyncrasies and whatnot. Yet new life can be had with these old PC’s, if you can be creative with what you put it up for.

Any veteran of the internet surfing scene will be able to recognize certain pictures that pop up from time to time on their virtue as unique, distinctive or outrageous. As the audience of a hardware blog, let’s put aside any references to those other, commonly searched-for pics, shall we? Anyway, what I’m referring to are pics of old hardware put into ludicrous situations.

A well known pic would be the PC-as-a-barbecue-grill, as seen here:

Another pic I ran across recently is the CRT made into a power source for an electrified fence – an astoundingly useless creation, to be frank:

                                            No animals were harmed in this conversion.

 
Old CD drives have been used as retractable coffee holders as well.

Other “second-life” uses:

                                             The most realistic you can down-load

                                           Essential geek fashion statement

                                          Depending on jumper settings, you can be up to 15 minutes late

All of these are well and good, but there are some far better uses for old PC’s that’s been replaced by a new purchase. Listed below are some tips gathered from around the internet.

Give it to someone else
If its for somebody not tech-savvy, set it up by cleaning out everything, giving it a new lick of Microsoft paint, and set it up for simple computer duties. For kids, just let them run rampant on this  PC rather than your new purchase.

Sound Machine
Thousands upon thousands of MP3’s lying around discs and in your hard drive(s)? Get them all together, dump them in your newly de-commissioned machine, then jam away. Make sure to pair the computer with decent speakers of course.

Video recorder
Fair warning: this may entail a purchase on your part – to be able to record over-the-air broadcasts; a tuner will be needed to show and to record. Make sure you have a fair size hard drive, or that you back up your recorded shows often.

Games platform
This is a bit hit and miss, because running games is one of the most demanding of computer applications. A passably good video card is essential here. Another option is to install software emulators – those nifty programs that enable you to run older console games on your PC, while you run the new games on the new computer. Make sure you own the original piece of software before you run the emulator thoug.

Music studio
If you have a good but aging soundcard on your old rig, then recoding through the midi port may be an option for you. While you run some intensive stuff on the new computer, start to get creative on the old one.

Video editing suite
In a similar vein, a PC makes an excellent video editing platform, especially if you have a digital camcorder and a modicum of talent. High specifications help and a sizeable hard disk is vital as this determines how much raw video you can store and work with. A recordable CD or DVD drive is a bonus if you want to share your finished work. But even without these items, this task is still possible – if you’re willing to wait.

Install Linux
Itching to learn this iconic piece of coding? Well this is the chance to do so without abandoning your old familiar. Experiment on the old PC with Linux, it’s the best way to learn.

Networking
Need a secure location for your files? If your home is networked with a number of computers, simply connect the old computer and use it for backing up important files while you surf the net in your new one.

Broadband gateway
Another option is to use your PC as the gateway for the internet. Sounds impressive no? Not really, it’s simply practical. Programs that enable a hardware-secure firewall are available, essentially turning your old PC into a guard-dog against malware and viruses.

Upgrade it
This is always an option, although your ability to upgrade will be dictated by the hardware you’re running and the availability of compatible parts. Upgrade, reuse, save money.

Cannibalize
Grab that old power supply unit and use it to power your hungry video cards as a supplementary backup. Get that slowpoke CD drive and use it for reading duties. Yank out the hard drive and get a free backup device. There’s always something useful left in an old(er) PC.

                                        Turn them all at once for hard, heated comfort

                                        Farm while you type

                                        Little itty-bitty reminders

Some other uses for your rig:

-          Use it as a photo/video archive to showcase your multimedia collection/bore your relatives to tears.

-          Automate your home. With X10 devices, you can configure your computer to wake you up, make the coffee and turn on the heating. See here for some ideas.

-          Sell your unit for (some) cash. Somebody will find value in any kind of hardware.

-          Use the rig as a print server. Connected to a network, the PC will serve superbly as a “print station” where everything output-related can be found.

Lastly and most importantly, look around your neighborhood bulletin boards or charitable institutions. With the state of our nation’s computer accessibility (or lack thereof), there will surely be some kid or some secluded barrio, or even your local school, clinic, or fire station that will have units even older than the one you’ve given up on, and may want/need a faster PC. Out of all the previous listed uses, this will prove the most creative way to breathe life into your old PC.

                                         Think different indeed.

 P.S. Apologies to the Mac users out there, I proclaim no inherent favoritism between Mac and PC, as I lambast them both.