In this earth day...

[pat]

well, I was reading about electronic devices going to landfill and all the toxic waste created by the huge amount of computer part..

And then, I'm seeing thread like:"Does AMD's Athlon 64 X2 6000 Have Any Kick Left?"..

I didn't read it. I just don't want to read that maybe someone with a 6000+ want to ditch it, and its motherboard, to get a core2 that may (or not, depending of a lot of factor like OS, apps in the background,..) because he think it may not be up to the task. IMHO, that's stupid. And the same is true for video card..

To all of you, that are ditching out perfectly running and performing computer for your only pleasure that is to say:" My computer specs are better than your's", I can only hope that you take care about where your used parts goes. I hope you are selling them to someone that don't have a computer at all, not someone that is still happy with his current machine and that you just convince him thathe not anymore, because you are just reporting the problem to another level..

Lot of peoples don't have the money to even buy one. Kids that don't have access to a computer will have more trouble later than ones that does. If one can help there, it will be way better than sending the parts to the landfill.

Blame can be put on AMD and Intel, with their price war, making you believe that your current processor that you got 2 months ago is not fast enough anymore.. damn.. the software used by the people didnt change that much in the last 2 month. I can run Vista very well, on a 3200+ with 1 gigs and an ATI x1300xt video card.. and way better that I expected first.

I sincerly think that Intel right now are hurting the environnement by keeping their processor at such low price. They are superior, they could be able to sell them at higher price. peoples that really want the best will pay, those who don't really need it won't because their perfectly suitable processor will still have a value left in it. And AMD, to follow, lower their price and that create just the same in the lower end market.

And then, AMD is announcing its new CPU line, that lookss promising.. I just hope that peoples that got core2 won't ditch 'em because they won't be as fast as the new AMD.. even if they are still fast enough. It would be sad to see these CPU going to waste, or collecting dust for a time, then going to waste anyway juste because they are not the fastest...


I don't want to prevent anybody to upgrade. I just say, please, upgrade wisely. make sure your old part will be put at good usage. Build a cheap computer for a nephew. Donate it to a school. Do whatever it is possible to prevent more part going to waste.

The company I work for is specialized in excavating big hole.. Like the one used for waste.. I can see all the waste a major city can put in the hole in one week. And I'm telling you, it is a lot..

 

[r0ck]

I don't see any harm in people replacing Prescotts

 

[BigCharb]

my mobo is RoHs soo, my comp is earth friendly

 

[Heyyou27]

I've had this system for nearly two years now, and I don't plan on upgrading until later this yeah when Crysis comes around.

 

[lp231]

How can you tell the differences between a ROHS board and a
one that is not ROHS?
Do you see trees growing out of it?

 

[albundy2]

do you think guys upgrading 6000+'s and crosshairs with sli'd 7900's are tossing it in a land fill? no they are selling it or giving it too someone with an old barton or p2/p3 system and that is going to the land fill or craigslist. personally i have plenty of family without computers to hand down my systems to.
to dude above me you can tell because there will be a sticker or some other form of labeling that will say ROHS on the item or package it was in.

 

[jaguarskx]

Personally, I don't dump hardware unless I know it doesn't work anymore, or if it really is very obsolete.

My first PC was the Pentium 166 MMX which I more or less sold piecemeal. My Pentium III 450 was donated to the Salvation Army when I built my Athlon XP-M 1700+ rig, it got upgraded to an XP-M 2600+ CPU (see below). I also built a HTPC around another Athlon XP-M 2600+ CPU.

When It came time to upgrade to my C2D E6600, I gave my Athlon XP-M 2600+ rig to my cousin. I still have the HTPC built around the Athlon XP-M. Once I replace my old HTPC with a new HTPC, the old HTPC will be packed away as an "emergency" backup PC.

The only components that I know of which went directly to a landfill are:

1. An old HP printer, that finally died.
2. Several hard drives that failed.
3. One DVD ROM drive that died.
4. My old Athlon XP 1700+ which died.
5. PNY GeForce 4200Ti that died.
6. My good 'ol Diamond Viper TNT2 PCI card that was in working order, but was dumped because it was too obsolete even to give it away.
7. Microsoft wireless Keyboard & mouse combo that died.
8. Good 'ol Creative Sound Blaster 16 that still worked, but was too obsolete to be of any value to anyone.
9. My 8 year old JBL 2.1 speakers that finally died 2 weeks ago, now using crappy old Harmon Kardon backup speakers. That is until I find a suitable replacement.

I still have a working Radeon 7500, but sadly that will most likely get dumped as well since I couldn't even give it away for free a few years ago.

 

[martyjs]

I concur, I have 3 PC's in our house. When I update My PC, the old parts get rebuilt in to the family computer, that gets rebuilt to the oldest child's computer.

The old parts go down to our recycle centre that rebuilds them and sells the as cheap parts or PCs..

 

[mrmez]

True, true.

But getting rid of a near new PC part doesnt mean chucking it in the bin.
In my case a new sys/component for me = an upgrade for one of several pc's im 'responsible for'. At the end of the day tho, a new part purchased often means an old part DOES get thrown away.

Its the way the world is geared. Companies make more $ if we chuck things out.

Where and when does it stop. Not for a long time sadly... a very long time.

 

[The_Abyss]

Whilst I don't disagree with the OP, some countries, notably EU members are already working towards more pro-active solutions, coming into force in the UK from 1 July 2007:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/444217/444663/1106248/

 

[o1die]

California charges a disposal fee for any major computer part. Perhaps that should be done nationwide. Dell and Apple have recycle programs. I remember about 2 or 3 years ago some local group came to my door to get donations and signatures for apple to recycle. Apparantly their petitions worked.

 

[m25]

Well said man! Personally, I have to get the best I can because it heavily affects my job and the time needed to complete it but I've heard a lot of people like 'I do web surfing, Excel and some pre-200 gaming, which Core2 should I upgrade my 3.2GHz P4 to?!'.

 

[epsilon84]

Heh, nicely said.

A computer I build usually lasts a long time, firstly as my 'main' PC, then as a spare/2nd PC or work PC, or even a casual PC in the lounge room for web surfing. Sometimes I use the spare parts for relatives who don't need bleeding edge performance. Nothing goes to waste, which is probably why my room is full of obsolete hardware that I'm trying to find a use for. Speaking of which, I still have a 12yr old black & white laser printer that my father's business used to use. It's chunky as well and only prints at 6ppm, god knows if it even works anymore, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away for nostalgic reasons. :lol:

Only when they get too slow to do basic tasks (ie. run the OS, with Vista that may be half my machines ) do I discard them, and usually then I still sell it off for $50 or whatever it is worth. Only broken down and worthless components go straight for the garbage bin.

 

[CaptRobertApril]

I'm squeezing the last bit of life out of my San Diego 3700 1GB RAM just until the dual socket quad situation gets sorted out between Penryn and Barcy. When I'm done with it, I really don't have any idea what to do with that system at all. The market value is next to nothing, can't sell it on ebay since the shipping cost would be more than it's worth, and I wanna cannibalize some parts out of it for my next system anyway, like the PSU and the huge tower case big enough to double as a cello carrier. I had given some thought on setting up a second ADSL line and letting it carry on as a fulltime up/downloader, but I'd need to get a second phone line in my area, blah blah blah and it just isn't worth the trouble. I guess it just goes into the trash!

 

[epsilon84]

That's a shame, here in Australia there is a big market for 2nd hand parts amongst enthusiast forums, you can pretty much sell anything you want no matter how old (to an extent of course, nobody wants a 486 except as a keyring ), there's always someone wanting to build a file server or internet PC for grandma. :lol:

 

[CaptRobertApril]

I know a guy in South America who imports 40'FCLs full of nothing but junk. 17" B CRTs, PIII, etc. Slaps 'em together and sells them for massive profits. Didn't know Oz was like that though! But I was up in Rockhampton which I guess isn't the national center for computer enthusiasts.

 

[r0x0r]

That's a shame, here in Australia there is a big market for 2nd hand parts amongst enthusiast forums, you can pretty much sell anything you want no matter how old (to an extent of course, nobody wants a 486 except as a keyring ), there's always someone wanting to build a file server or internet PC for grandma. :lol:

True. I could easily use CaptRob's 3700, 1Gb RAM PC for some 2005-era 12x10 gaming. Compared to my system, it's a beast.

Also I remember watching a doco on a guy an African country (can't remember which one sorry , might have been Tunisia ) who imports all the ''old'' PC's that people from overseas throw out, then mixes and matches parts and sells them for a huge profit.

 

[CaptRobertApril]

True. I could easily use CaptRob's 3700, 1Gb RAM PC for some 2005-era 12x10 gaming. Compared to my system, it's a beast.

Also I remember watching a doco on a guy an African country (can't remember which one sorry , might have been Tunisia ) who imports all the ''old'' PC's that people from overseas throw out, then mixes and matches parts and sells them for a huge profit.

Yeah, I heard about that guy in Tunisia too. I think he takes a few hundred old PCs, wires them in series to a CPU-Z, and then runs fake K10 benchys to impress the braindead press! :lol:

 

[r0x0r]

True. I could easily use CaptRob's 3700, 1Gb RAM PC for some 2005-era 12x10 gaming. Compared to my system, it's a beast.

Also I remember watching a doco on a guy an African country (can't remember which one sorry , might have been Tunisia ) who imports all the ''old'' PC's that people from overseas throw out, then mixes and matches parts and sells them for a huge profit.

Yeah, I heard about that guy in Tunisia too. I think he takes a few hundred old PCs, wires them in series to a CPU-Z, and then runs fake K10 benchys to impress the braindead press! :lol:

Expect a report from Tom's somewhere around about June...of 2009.

 

[The_Abyss]

That's a shame, here in Australia there is a big market for 2nd hand parts amongst enthusiast forums, you can pretty much sell anything you want no matter how old (to an extent of course, nobody wants a 486 except as a keyring ), there's always someone wanting to build a file server or internet PC for grandma. :lol:

True. I could easily use CaptRob's 3700, 1Gb RAM PC for some 2005-era 12x10 gaming. Compared to my system, it's a beast.

Also I remember watching a doco on a guy an African country (can't remember which one sorry , might have been Tunisia ) who imports all the ''old'' PC's that people from overseas throw out, then mixes and matches parts and sells them for a huge profit.

There's a florishing market in Lome (for export to Nigeria), Nigeria and Ghana.

 

[Lacostiade]

Whenever I upgrade any PC at home, I dont simply dump the old parts, I just give them to a friend who has just burnt his old one.

 

[CaptRobertApril]

Expect a report from Tom's somewhere around about June...of 2009.

Ouch. :lol:

 

[CaptRobertApril]

There's a florishing market in Lome (for export to Nigeria), Nigeria and Ghana.

The only problem is that once you export your container to Nigeria, they pay you with a cashier's check drawn on the 419 Bank! :lol:

 

[jeff_2087]

And then, I'm seeing thread like:"Does AMD's Athlon 64 X2 6000 Have Any Kick Left?"..

I didn't read it. I just don't want to read that maybe someone with a 6000+ want to ditch it, and its motherboard, to get a core2 that may (or not, depending of a lot of factor like OS, apps in the background,..) because he think it may not be up to the task.

I think you may have misinterpreted the title. The X2 6000+ is a new CPU, the article wasn't about whether or not you should replace your 6000+, it was about whether you should get one at all. A more appropriate title would have been something like "X2 6000+ Does AMD's K8 architecture still have any kick left?".

It wasn't about replacing a 6000+, it was about buying one in the first place. Not to sound critical, but it's a misunderstanding that isn't surprising considering you didn't even read the article you're referencing.

 

[MU_Engineer]

The only computer parts I've ever thrown away were a couple of dead HDDs and a dead case fan. I still have my 5-year-old laptop and I sold the 486 and K6-2 machines I had previously.