What to do with this old computer

[FlightSimBoy]

So, I have a pretty old computer sitting here at home. Heres some of the specs:

eMachines eTower 766i
Intel Celeron "Coppermine" 766Mhz, Socket 390
Intel "Whitney" Motherboard, i810 Chipset
64 MB PC100 RAM (in reality, 62 MB)
Intel 3D Graphics Accelerator, 2 MB shared VRAM
30GB Maxtor Hard Drive
8X CD-RW Drive
Windows ME

This computer still works pretty good. It has its laggy moments, sure, but thats to be expected of it. I'm thinking about finding some used RAM to put in it, I need 2 sticks of 128 MB. I was also thinking about getting a cheap PCI graphics card for it.

Theres always Folding @ Home, which I've thought about, but the computer doesn't have an Ethernet port. I have to connect through USB. My DSL modem only supports one computer at a time anyway. I have a Linskys wireless router, but I need an Ethernet wall jack. Maybe get a wireless adapter for both the PC I'm on now, and the old one.

So, what do ya think?

 

[freestyler105]

That's really not a bad PC...if you want to put a little money into it (we're only talking like $50) it could be pretty useful.

Some things to consider adding:
-Upgrading RAM
-PCI Ethernet Card
-Graphics card
-Bigger hard drive

Depends on what you're going to use it for though. I've been in the same situation as this before, and here are the ideas I came up with:
- Web Server. This has tons of possibilities, you can do anything. I can help you set it up easily. What I ended up doing is making a site with all the cool flash games on it for my friends to use at school since all the good sites are blocked.

- Home Server. Use it to hold all your files. Great idea for multimedia, I've put all my music on a separate server before so the whole network can access it.

- DVR/TiVo. There is free software out there to make your PC into a TiVo. Some of the options are actually better than the TiVo software. Not to mention you can get as much storage as you're willing to pay for. Obviously, this will be a little more expensive because you'll need a decent video card and big hard drive.

- Folding...yeah.

 

[Äߧý∩†H♠H䎀]

That's really not a bad PC...if you want to put a little money into it (we're only talking like $50) it could be pretty useful.

Some things to consider adding:
-Upgrading RAM
-PCI Ethernet Card
-Graphics card
-Bigger hard drive

Depends on what you're going to use it for though. I've been in the same situation as this before, and here are the ideas I came up with:
- Web Server. This has tons of possibilities, you can do anything. I can help you set it up easily. What I ended up doing is making a site with all the cool flash games on it for my friends to use at school since all the good sites are blocked.

- Home Server. Use it to hold all your files. Great idea for multimedia, I've put all my music on a separate server before so the whole network can access it.

- DVR/TiVo. There is free software out there to make your PC into a TiVo. Some of the options are actually better than the TiVo software. Not to mention you can get as much storage as you're willing to pay for. Obviously, this will be a little more expensive because you'll need a decent video card and big hard drive.

- Folding...yeah.

Hey not to hijack but could you point out some good sources for the DVR. I've got a old 1.9Ghz P4 just laying around here. My DVR only holds like 200hrs. If I could hook my pc up 2 that would be sweet.

 

[FlightSimBoy]

Well, I have a 250 GB Seagate that isn't in use but it has Vista Ultimate on it, and I think I might have burnt it out. I don't know, I'll try it later. I don't know any place in my area that would still stock PC100 RAM, and even then, I don't want to spend more than 10 dollars on a 128 MB stick of it. I did find these on Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=2010170147+1052307855+1052414041&name=PC+100.

I think I would get the Mushkin because its cheaper, but I have never used that brand. I'm a big Kingston fan.

 

[freestyler105]

Mushkin is actually great RAM for the price.


There are actually a bunch of options for PVR software. Most you have to pay for, but you can get them free if you know where to look.

BeyondTV and SageTV are the most popular pay ones.
http://www.snapstream.com/
http://www.sagetv.com/

GB-PVR is free for Windows:
http://www.gbpvr.com/

And overall, MythTV is probably the best one. It only runs under Linux, but it's free and is the most powerful option.
http://mythtv.org/

So if you want a (legal) free one, check out MythTV. If you're going to pay, I'd recommend SageTV.

 

[Jesusfrk611]

Find some used PC100 RAM. Try craigslist if you have a site for your area and see if anyone is selling PC100 RAM. You might get lucky and find 512MB for what you want to pay for 256 (only helpful if the mobo supports 512MB)... Just a thought. I've gotten a lot of good deals on craigslist from older PC stuff.

 

[Dark Night]

I would use it for a server if I was you.

 

[muz]

i use an old computer , celeron 1.7ghz,128mbddr,160GB hard drive space as a server for files in my home but people have already covered is possibilities so yeah i wont talk about that but if you want used computer parts i usualy get any used stuff off e bay

 

[Istonian]

Install linux on it and use it as a server.

 

[FlightSimBoy]

So, I can't put my 250 GB hard drive in it. That sucks.

It doesn't really matter, though. I'm thinking about putting a distro of Linux on it, because thats what people are saying to do. I'm thinking Damn Small Linux , because its only 50 MB (LOL!) and turning it into a little server type thing. I just need an Ethernet wall jack, PCI Ethernet adapter, dedicated graphics, and more RAM.