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?

  • janNatan@lemmy.mlEnglish
    1·
    1 hour ago

    It’s a decent machine. If you haven’t already, a €0 upgrade would be dusting it. For a little money you could get a tube of thermal paste and reapply it to both the CPU and GPU. If the thermal paste has never been replaced on either, then I would say it is time.

    Other than that, I vote for trying out Linux on it. The system is good enough that you don’t even have to aim for lightweight distros, I’d say. Try out any distro you like.

    It should be good enough for a daily driver Linux PC with some mild gaming thrown in as well.

    Although, If the hard drives are as old as the rest of the system, you may want to avoid storing important data on them.

    Edit to add: if you have need for a smart TV, using this as a HTPC (home theater PC) could also be a good idea. The only thing you’d need to buy for this would be a wireless keyboard with a touchpad. And that’s optional. (Although, I would highly recommend it since I use one with my HTPC, and it’s great.)