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What do you do with your old Computer when you buy a new one?

What do you do with your "old" computer when you buy a new one?

  • Total voters
    158
With my PC's it's been: Main goes to secondary, then secondary goes to bedroom, then the bedroom one gets Linux on it and goes to charity.

However just as I'd settled into that "food chain", I complicated the situation by getting a desktop Mac. Those hold their value so I think I'd end up either giving that to family or selling it on eBay.
 
I sold my first Mac, a G4 Mac Mini to my friend at a reduced price (threw in a Samsung 17" SyncMaster) so he could "get into" Macs (he'd always ignorantly bashed them before that)

He's since sold it for a MacBook, so I guess the strategy worked :D

Then I bought an iMac, which I sold on eBay once I had to go to university and portability was a must.

The current MacBook I own is going to my mom for free in January when I pick up a MacBook Pro (well, she did put £250 towards it, so it's fair I guess :p)
 
lofight said:
That's still quite a nice price. How old approximately is your computer you're selling?
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It was about 2 years old, second hand when I got it, and all I did to it in that time was double the RAM.

Not too shabby I reckon.
 
I usually grant it to someone that really needs it. Can be any kind. Relative or just friend. But I don't give them away. It is more of a permanent lend. They can be sure that I will not ask it back as long as they need it. But I don't want them to sell it on eBay. That is the way it went with all my old PCs. Yet I never asked back for any of those computers ;)
I am not sure about my iMac though. I can not imagine giving it away :) But it is still to new to decide that now..
I am positively surprised to see that so many people give their old computers away for free. I think that it is a nice thing to do.
 
I replace my primary computer every couple of years, so the old one goes on eBay (Macs hold their value well, so are worth re-selling - especially if you tend to buy high-end models).

On the other hand I also tend to have several older Macs around for server/backup purposes. I generally pick these up secondhand and use 'em until I need something quicker - at which point it's back to eBay, or I've been known to pass them on to friends, if useful. I still have my original Mac Plus, though - can't bear to part with it ;-)

For what it's worth, I've only ever thrown away a Mac once - it was an old PM8200 and the logic board went bad after about 4 years of use.
 
Keep it, and still use it a lot

I'm going to buy a new Apple notebook soon for on-the-road use and school.
Probably a MacBook, or that new sub notebook.
I will use it next to my iMac. I'm definitely gonna keep my iMac.
 
First try to sell my old Macs to a PC user that I been trying to convert for a while. If that don't work I'll try craislist / recycler ads. Last resource find a place where you can donate and get a tax credit :D
 
I keep them. I've only technically "upgraded" three times. (Once from a windows 95 machine to another, slightly faster windows 95 machine. next to a Windows Xp machine. and the last to my mini) So most of the computers I buy are already used, and not better then my current machine. But I have kept all the ones I've upgraded from.
 
I gave my old G4 to my Grandma unfortunatly she NEVER uses it I go over there and its not even plugged in and has like dust all over it :( I know I sound horrible but I sorta want it back theres times where I could have used it.

And yes I showed her how to use it too its a shame I think.
 
what do you do with your old computer

I generally keep them, unless they have been my main computer. I keep trading my main computer for a slightly better one. I keep intending to give them to family members, but they unfortunately loathe and despise Macs, so

More for me!

The other day though, i took about 5 Pentiums to the dump.... That's not a crime though. Besides, I'm sure there are people like me who scavenge through trailers for computers and parts!
 
I keep them even though I did sell my eMac earlier this year. I use them either for file servers, or for just using older software on.
 
My old one is a laptop, so I still use it quite a bit.

Since the advent of wireless, I haven't felt the need to take newspapers or magazines into the bathroom. I don't see that changing any time soon and I doubt I'll want to upgrade it for a while just to surf the net.
 
Osarkon said:
Hm..not too sure about percentage, but I normally manage to sell the old for £350-£400. Bearing in mind they're rather out of date by the time I do upgrade.
Click to expand...

I sold my 1Gen. Black Macbook with 1Go ram for £600 and bourght the new iMac alu. for £1000 so got back more then 50% off price so it's all good !!!:apple:
 
Anyone see/read the January 2008 National Geographic yet? Big article about computer dumps in the 3rd world.

The irony is it was in my mailbox at home, literally after I returned from FedEx after dropping off my dead 7 year old Dell desktop. When I bought my iMac last month, Apple offered to take my old computer via an arrangement with FedEx.

Anyone know what Apple does with these old computers??
 
i do one of 2 things:
keep it as a decoration (i do that so much my room is like a bombsite!)
keep it and hide it somewhere (use that option when my parents think i have too much junk!).

My Mac is just a decoration - I use a Vista PC. Sorry guys, that comment has probably hurt many people.
Its cos its a G3 Powermac (blue and white one). 400mhz processor and you just cant do anything with it. I was always a mac wanter (from ages 11-14), and now I have one, I think the spec is too low.
SO, if anyone has a mac throwing out with more than 400mhz and are wondering what to do with it, give it to me! cos i'm only small... and pocket money doesnt buy a very good mac... poor me
 
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