I'm currently on a 3 week course and I get to build a computer to take home at the end of it (it's a simple course but oh well). I have no idea what I'm going to do with the PC at the end of it, any suggestions on what I could use it for? It's at a computer recycling place so parts are limited.
Specs are going to roughly be:
Pentium 4 3.0GHz
1GB DDR2 600MHz
80GB HDD
And some 256MB PCi Express graphics card if I can find one, otherwise will be a 128MB one.
So yeah, any suggestions on what I could use it for? I honestly can't think of anything but haven't given it a whole lot of thought.
If you don't need it you can donate it. The problem with old systems like that is that the power consumption can be high so you may see a change in your electric bill if it's powered on all the time.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I have updated specs for it now and will test everything tomorrow (to make sure parts work etc.)
Pentium 4 3.0GHz
1GB DDR2 667 (1x1GB)
Geforce 7800GTX (512MB I believe)
So decent enough specs. I'll keep it around for sure in case my current PC decides to give it up at any point as a spare to fall to but of course would love to have a proper use for it.
Am half tempted to use it as an "internet" machine, for general browsing of the internet, Skype, Instant Messengers, music etc. while using my current PC more for gaming (I talk to a lot of people online so playing full screen games can become a pain). But will see. A mame machine isn't a bad idea either so that's also an option.
@Dude: The machine you described is almost exactly like the Dell Dimension 5150 my parents own and use to do their rudimentary tasks with Windows XP as the OS. It's not a bad machine for basic use. Their's could greatly improve with more RAM and an SSD drive for the OS. As the others mentioned, using that machine would be very good for playing old games with emulators/ROMs games. It would also serve as a good local data storage unit if you could afford to add some 1 or 2 terabyte hard drives. And if you play on the shady-side of the internet it could be used as a torrent seed box too. And if you have no use for it, remember, it would be a good item to donate to someone who is relatively poor but would enjoy having a basic computer.
I have two old Dells with P4s in them. Using one as an Ubuntu box to mess around with and the other as a Minecraft server. Works really well. P4s are still beastly.
@BaskervilleManor: Yeah, not expecting to use it for anything good, but it'll be nice to have it around as a backup in case I need it, or if a friend comes to stay and don't have a laptop or whatever (and the fact it's a Socket 775 means if my current motherboard fries I can just dump in components from my current PC and be good to go for the most part).
Got the PC up and running now, all components tested and works fine. Only a 256MB GPU instead of 512 but still decent enough. Got XP Pro on there atm but would be tempted to dump Ubuntu or another Linux Distro on there to mess with. Just figured if I was going to have it would be nice if there was something cool I could do with the machine.
This is slightly off-topic but what is a MAME box? On-Topic though, Pentium 4's were not bad, I recommend that if you have any older games that do not run that well on modern hardware or operating systems.
@DxBecks: I guess, in a way, a MAME box is a super-duper game emulator. Basically, with a MAME box, you can play a lot of the old-school games made around or before 1995. And a few people take it to a special level of being an enthusiast by hand-crafting a custom gaming cabinent to place the PC and monitor into so it resembles the arcade machines of the 1980s. Personally, the only old-school games I ever cared to revisit were the early Nintendo games.
I used a P4 for a long time (socket 478, Canterwood 2.8GHz) about 3 years of solid gaming and just got into ripping/encoding DVD's. It took all night to encode an xvid of an hour and a half movie. super warm too. I played so many games on this thing, but thru several different GPU's, (AGP 8x, Geforce 3 TI200, Geforce 6800 OC)
MAME could be cool but I wouldn't leave it running 24x7 as it really will waste a lot of power. A backup machine, ubuntu box or anything like that is cool. I repair a lot of people's machines, so usually when I can't save one I try and recycle the parts into a box I can sell and its cheaper than recycling it since they charge for that. You can probably get $150 for it if you have any interest in selling it, donate it to a church or goodwill is another option.
Hey guys,
I'm currently on a 3 week course and I get to build a computer to take home at the end of it (it's a simple course but oh well). I have no idea what I'm going to do with the PC at the end of it, any suggestions on what I could use it for? It's at a computer recycling place so parts are limited.
Specs are going to roughly be:
Pentium 4 3.0GHz
1GB DDR2 600MHz
80GB HDD
And some 256MB PCi Express graphics card if I can find one, otherwise will be a 128MB one.
So yeah, any suggestions on what I could use it for? I honestly can't think of anything but haven't given it a whole lot of thought.
Cheers
Minecraft server? MAME box? HTPC? Dedicated home server?
Definitely a MAME box, that's what I did with my old computer with similar specs. Works fantastic.
MAME box for sure.
Could put some more HDD's in it and turn it into home storage, WHS, NAME box would be another 1 too!
If you don't need it you can donate it. The problem with old systems like that is that the power consumption can be high so you may see a change in your electric bill if it's powered on all the time.
You could heat a moderately sized room with a P4.
@lane said:
LMAO! Win!
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I have updated specs for it now and will test everything tomorrow (to make sure parts work etc.)
Pentium 4 3.0GHz
1GB DDR2 667 (1x1GB)
Geforce 7800GTX (512MB I believe)
So decent enough specs. I'll keep it around for sure in case my current PC decides to give it up at any point as a spare to fall to but of course would love to have a proper use for it.
Am half tempted to use it as an "internet" machine, for general browsing of the internet, Skype, Instant Messengers, music etc. while using my current PC more for gaming (I talk to a lot of people online so playing full screen games can become a pain). But will see. A mame machine isn't a bad idea either so that's also an option.
@Dude: The machine you described is almost exactly like the Dell Dimension 5150 my parents own and use to do their rudimentary tasks with Windows XP as the OS. It's not a bad machine for basic use. Their's could greatly improve with more RAM and an SSD drive for the OS. As the others mentioned, using that machine would be very good for playing old games with emulators/ROMs games. It would also serve as a good local data storage unit if you could afford to add some 1 or 2 terabyte hard drives. And if you play on the shady-side of the internet it could be used as a torrent seed box too. And if you have no use for it, remember, it would be a good item to donate to someone who is relatively poor but would enjoy having a basic computer.
P4's make wicked key chain ornaments, had one for a while.
I have two old Dells with P4s in them. Using one as an Ubuntu box to mess around with and the other as a Minecraft server. Works really well. P4s are still beastly.
@BaskervilleManor: Yeah, not expecting to use it for anything good, but it'll be nice to have it around as a backup in case I need it, or if a friend comes to stay and don't have a laptop or whatever (and the fact it's a Socket 775 means if my current motherboard fries I can just dump in components from my current PC and be good to go for the most part).
Got the PC up and running now, all components tested and works fine. Only a 256MB GPU instead of 512 but still decent enough. Got XP Pro on there atm but would be tempted to dump Ubuntu or another Linux Distro on there to mess with. Just figured if I was going to have it would be nice if there was something cool I could do with the machine.
This is slightly off-topic but what is a MAME box? On-Topic though, Pentium 4's were not bad, I recommend that if you have any older games that do not run that well on modern hardware or operating systems.
@DxBecks: I guess, in a way, a MAME box is a super-duper game emulator. Basically, with a MAME box, you can play a lot of the old-school games made around or before 1995. And a few people take it to a special level of being an enthusiast by hand-crafting a custom gaming cabinent to place the PC and monitor into so it resembles the arcade machines of the 1980s. Personally, the only old-school games I ever cared to revisit were the early Nintendo games.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAME
Mail client server?
I used a P4 for a long time (socket 478, Canterwood 2.8GHz) about 3 years of solid gaming and just got into ripping/encoding DVD's. It took all night to encode an xvid of an hour and a half movie. super warm too. I played so many games on this thing, but thru several different GPU's, (AGP 8x, Geforce 3 TI200, Geforce 6800 OC)
MAME could be cool but I wouldn't leave it running 24x7 as it really will waste a lot of power. A backup machine, ubuntu box or anything like that is cool. I repair a lot of people's machines, so usually when I can't save one I try and recycle the parts into a box I can sell and its cheaper than recycling it since they charge for that. You can probably get $150 for it if you have any interest in selling it, donate it to a church or goodwill is another option.