What would you do with this old PC if you had €0 to invest in it?

I have an older desktop sitting around with:

  • AMD FX-6100, 6 cores at 3.3 GHz
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 730
  • 24 GB RAM
  • ASRock 970 Extreme R2.0 motherboard
  • One SSD and one HDD

It still works, but I currently have no money to upgrade it or turn it into an ambitious homelab project.

I am trying to decide what would be the most useful and least wasteful thing to do with it.

A few possibilities I have considered:

  • Install a lightweight Linux distribution and use it for experiments
  • Turn it into a local server, NAS, self-hosting box, or automation playground
  • Use it to learn more about local AI, although I assume the GT 730 is far too limited for most modern models
  • Keep it until I have money for a few upgrades
  • Sell it cheaply and put the money towards a newer, more energy-efficient machine

My main concern with using it as a server is electricity consumption. Keeping an older FX-based desktop running all day might cost more, both financially and environmentally, than the practical value it provides.

What would you do in my situation?

Are there any genuinely useful €0 experiments this hardware is still suitable for? Is it worth keeping, or would selling it or reusing the parts elsewhere be the more sensible choice?

  • poVoq@slrpnk.netEnglish
    7·
    4 hours ago

    If you use it as a server, definitely take out the GPU first. It will just waste electricity.

    But yeah, I have two similar machines that due to the high power use are not in use, but if I had nothing else I guess it would have to do somehow.