Recycling Hardware from 'Ancient Rig'?

BennyC

BennyC

BennyC

Soldato
Joined
25 Sep 2006
Posts
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Afternoon All,

It’s probably about 12 years to the day since I last dabbled in PC Hardware having moved to the darkside...

I’m using Zwift currently on my 2010 MBP with a few upgrades (8GB RAM & SSD) but it’s really not cut out to the task and I’d like to have a larger than 13” display too :o It's not that demanding a game/simulation, minimum requirements are here.

I have my old rig knocking about under the stairs and am thinking about recycling what I can from it, in theory, to see if it’s cost effective. In all likelihood I think only my case (quite a nice Lian-Li & 5-600W PSU (providing connections to the board & peripherals haven’t been overhauled)) will be salvageable.

Can’t currently find details of what my other hardware was but for the ‘lolz’ I think it had, C2D, 2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800mhz, an MSI or Gigabyte board and a 128MB ATI Graphics card and sounds like an Apache taking off and ran hotter than the sun itself.

I guess my main question, until I can identify which PSU I have is:

  • Have PSU connections to the mainboard, cpu, drives and cards changed or are they still as they were back then?
  • Have mounting fitments for the mainboard moved in 10 years or are they still standardised?

I’m considering just buying a prefab bundle for the sake of simplicity but wouldn’t mind seeing what extra sacrificing and afternoon could get me.

Thanks,

BennyC
 
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Whilst an old PSU will probably still power new components (connectors haven't changed, and PSU design hasn't really changed much), purely from an age point of view I would get a new one (e.g. you don't want it to pack up, and take your shiny new hardware with it).

Your case may be worth keeping, but again depends on what exact model it is, but cases have moved on in the last 10 years, with the focus on less noise and better cooling (e.g. the move from 80mm to 120mm or larger fans, space for water cooling, and better cable management).

Depending on what motherboard and processor you have, they may still be worth a few quid to someone as a bundle - worth checking out the MM (assuming you have access) or the usual second hand places.
 
Thanks, good shout on plonking my relics on the MM :cool:

This will be housed/used in the garage (which isn't insulated) during the colder/cooler months so cooling for me isn't a huge concern but duly noted. Of course I'll take precautions to ensure the elements don't get to it.

I've got a strong feeling it's the Lian-Li A05FN or similar.
 
BennyC said:
Afternoon All,
Have PSU connections to the mainboard, cpu, drives and cards changed or are they still as they were back then?
Click to expand...

The main power lead to the motherborad did change from 20 to 24 pin at some point, just not sure how long ago that would have been:)
I agree with Armageus though, if it's that old you would be better off with a new one.
 
Thanks guys, at risk of turning this in to a 'spec me' thread do you have any budget suggestions or options?

I've no affinity to any manufacturers in particular or need to use this machine for anything more demanding, perhaps some video conversion but that's once in a blue moon.

Looking to do this for as little as possible but equally have a system that doesn't struggle.

  • I have a LAN connection in the garage so don't need any wi-fi capability.
  • A 120GB SSD and 8GB RAM and sufficient GPU would be my only prerequisites.
  • Will require an OS.
  • Will recycle my existing case

Thanks :)
 
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