What do you guys do with your old systems when you upgrade?

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llmercll

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I figure most people upgrade every 3 years, on average, maybe less (depending how [H]ardcore/rich they are).

What do you guys typically do with your old components when you upgrade? eBay? media pc? what?

To me, things like cases/displays/PSU's/HDD's/mice/keyboard/fans/etc are pretty good for any computer as long as they last, and the real upgrade is in the motherboard/ram/cpu/gpu.

What do you guys typically do when you upgrade? what do you keep, what do you sell, etc?

Just curious =p
 
Sell the parts i replace locally. I almost never build full systems for myself. Usually i replace one or two things at a time and then sell the old items.
 
One is a weakass htpc. One a more decent htpc. Third is a backup gaming rig/porn server.
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Sell parts to friends generally. I just got a new place though now that has a loft so I am planning on putting my current comp out there and getting a new one for my room. I remember how fun LAN parties were when I was a youngster and I hope they are just as fun now that i'm old.
 
Usually tossed into the closet and eventually taken a part out of the case and dump the case. Kind of a waste but their has been times where it is handy to grab it out. One point I used an old comp for a test bed while doing some cert classes, worked well for that. HTPC is good idea as others have mentioned.
 
I prefer to build a whole new system when I upgrade then I pass down my old one to family. 2 of them went to my brother and 1 to my parents.
 
Sell or set up as a second, third, fourth box for when friends come over. Yes, I LAN
 
I run DC projects so I generally keep everything intact and running. Once the systems get too old for even that I'll usually take them offline and store them somewhere in case I need the parts to sell to someone else who doesn't want to get rid of their really old system but need it fixed.

Other times I'll do occasional upgrades to family member computers. A year ago for Christmas I gave my parents my Athlon X2 system as they needed something better for the grandkids (especially my son) to play games and stuff on while they are down there. I really miss that machine as it was my testbed and fiddling around with machine. Sure, I have three Q6600 systems yet but they all have specific purposes and I can't afford the downtime or have the time to keep restoring them back to the way they were before I fiddled with them. :( Unfortunately, it was the only midrange system I had which would fit the bill and last a while.

 
My old rig is currently serves as my FTP and Team Speak server and I use it to browse or monitor bandwidth etc while I am in game on my main rig. It will forever be an XP Pro computer, at least until it dies completely
 
I usually do partial upgrades, so I sell the old parts. But this time when I do my build in April it's a complete new build. I'll be keeping my old rig as a secondary backup machine. I might use it as a server, but I doubt it.
 
I have a lot of computers that I maintain, so I pass parts down according to "rank".
 
I do a few things depending on the situation:

1. If needed I keep a few pieces as backups in case something dies in my PC or a friend/relative PC.

2. Slap together leftover hardware and give it to a friend who needs a new computer. For instance had a co-worker who wanted a computer for his grandkids. I had an AMD Duron 600 system just collecting dust. Slapped an old video and sound card in it and had him buy me an OEM copy of Windows XP. Loaded it up and gave it to him because I could. Plus it cleaned out my excess stuff.

3. Sell the old system if I'm better off that way versus cannibalizing.
 
I upgrade to a new system every three years on average, and usually upgrade video in between to keep it up to speed with games. Instead of using the same case, I tend to keep the old build whole and use it as a backup and testing rig. Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to do the same with the next build... I probably won't for the next one. Instead I'll replace the guts of the older system which is in a Cooler Master Wave Master (have drilled a bottom front intake for more airflow).

I still have a fully working P4 1.8 in my storage closet, with a Radeon 9800Pro in it, sitting next to a 19" CRT, just in case. That thing is turning 9 years old this year. Actually I keep meaning to pull that sucker out and either install Win98 and use it as the base of an emulation box (it's plenty fast for MAME and the era of retrogames I'm interested in)... either that or put Ubuntu on it and use it to test sites and games in Ubuntu.
 
Give to family members or sell to friends and if it's a cheap part I just give it away to whomever needs it.
 
Blubikins said:
Usually keep the parts to build spare computers for family members.
Click to expand...

My wife is a gamer, so she always gets priority on my old PC parts when I upgrade (she doesn't play games that are as graphically demanding as the ones I play), and then my Dad gets whatever she doesn't need.
 
depends really on how new/expensive the parts are. i usually pass my older stuff down to my kids pcs or anyone else that needs the stuff. more recently i found myself upgrading pretty new stuff (gtx275) so i sold that locally to help pay for my new 5870.
 
Yeah, I feel like I'd have a hard time parting with any of my systems =p

I've still got my athlon xp 2600+ and 9800pro system, and I'm actually using it right now to watch braveheart!

It's my HTPC...but can't run any newer games or even 720p video haha


When you say sell locally, do you mean to a friend/family? or is there some shop you can sell used parts to?
 
llmercll said:
When you say sell locally, do you mean to a friend/family? or is there some shop you can sell used parts to?
Click to expand...

i put stuff up online. thers sites like usedottawa.com around here its just online classifieds that you can post pics on as well. oh yea and its free...
 
ebay or turn them into servers (pfsense, freeNAS, windows server, media box)
 
Keep the parts till i have enough to put a system together. then give it to someone who wouldn't have one if i hadn't given it to them.

So far i think i'm at 7 (since 1994)
 
Sell locally. Since stuff down here doesn't devalue as quickly as in the US, I can get away with selling a used GTX 260 for ~$220. Makes upgrades insanely cheap.
 
My wife gets the direct hand me down since she is also a gamer (even if much more casual). Subsequent handowns go to other family members or even close friends.

I've sold very few components or systems, almost everything gets given away. Things I do sell are special cases like the 7800GS I had that I sold for a super inflated price on ebay. Idiots overpaying for crappy AGP cards heh. Stuck an old 4200Ti in that system when I gave it away and the recipient didn't care.

Like most people around here I've also go drawers and boxes filled with old parts, although living in an apartment I don't keep nearly as much as I used to.
 
I've got a long hand-me-down chain, but not all my parts fall into it after I'm done with them. I sell a lot of my old parts on either FS/T forums (here and AT) or CL. The parts I buy to play with either get returned or sold, unless i find a compelling reason to toss them into the chain.
 
If parts of the machine broke I might sell the other components.

If it's just an upgrade I keep the old machine for the old OS for old games.
 
I either hand it down to my children that are still young or make it into a learning box for different operating systems.
 
I give the parts to my 59 year old ma. She builds her own computers and is fairly good with Linux.

She makes a son proud......
 
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