Pinoy Tech Guy

Written on Wednesday, 30th 2008f Jan 2008 – 8:08 pm | by sylv3rblade | 329 views

If you took quite awhile to replace your computer with a brand new rig, you probably hold some sentimental value over the darn thing and parting with a good old pal is hard. Now if you took great care if your old PC (and that no “accidents” happened), chances are bits and pieces are still working so either you either have a secondary computer or one to “cannibalize” parts from.

Some of the suggestions come from what I’ve set up here at home. No pix though, I got no cam except the ones on my phone but it’s just 1.3 MP so it’s sucky. Sorry guys.

1. A vintage multimedia box - My Pentium II (233MHz) PC’s heart is still pumping and since it’s equipped with a SoundBlaster soundcard, running Audacious on Slackware (or Winamp on Windows 95) turns it from junk to jukebox. Even with low specs Audacious runs skip-free, just don’t run anything else in the background (especially with a low spec’d machine like mine). If you’re worried about disk space, just network it to your main PC or a network drive.
2. A download machine - Now if you’re feeling GEEKY enough with a more powerful machine (about 533MHz will do for Azereus, I can’t get it to work properly on my old PC) or at least one with more storage, why keep your PC useful by using it as a dedicated download machine. With the right scripts (not programs… a geeky difference but relevant all the same) and the right tools, you can make your PC automatically download the latest episode of your favorite anime on schedule! Interested?It doesn’t matter what Operating System you’re using, just use Azereus or utorrent as your torrent clients since I can’t find any other clients that allow this and follow their respective guides. I’ll put up a more detailed guide at a later time, for now just make do with them.

   Autodownload for Azereus
   Autodownload for utorrent

3. A LAN Party star - Very few of the latest games really capture the wonders of multiplayer “fun.” Sure a fragfest on some of the latest games maybe euphoria to some but not everyone can play it. Now if you mention oldies but goodies like Starcraft, Diablo II and Baldur’s Gate then you’re one step away from hours of “fun” gaming. Just make sure you have the proper network setup (wired or not), and you can have mini-LAN parties any time you want. Note that if you have a wireless router set up, you can even invite the neighbors to a game or two.
4. A parts shack - This will only work for a few peripherals but when your PC dies, it’s best to have spares. You can “cannibalize” other non-performance boosting items like speakers and hard drives and use it on your new rig if you don’t feel like spending.
5. A donation item - Charity may not be your thing but many people out there would really appreciate a PC at home, especially if it’s free. Not only will you help others get into the world of computing (which seems to require computer literacy on every aspect) but it’ll also do your heart good. Good places to donate your PC are non-profit organizations, public schools and even orphanages. Just setup an easy to use Operating System, teach the new users the basics and you’re off.A reminder though, if you insist on keeping the OLD OS intact with all installed programs and files, be sure to delete anything “unappropiate.”
6. A practice dummy - Do you know how a CPU is connected to a motherboard? How to remove a hard drive? How to insert and remove RAM modules? An older computer (preferably dead) is the best dummy available. Just be sure you don’t have anything that you’re saving for something else on it since you might blow things up (I mean it). Practicing on a risk-free dummy is much better than poking around on your brand new PC right?
7. A mod waiting to happen - Now if you’re the creative type why not do something like this out of your PC?

   

   Not really practical but it’s sure to wow your friends.

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