   uses for old pcs?
  i have about 4 old p2 128mb ram pcs that are just sitting around. i am trying to think of some creative uses for them, my friend suggested to use one for a media server. but does anyone else have some ideas?p.s. they all have onboard network ports.   
Render Farm [wink]   ;  It all depends on the machines. If they're just generic off the shelf whitebox P2s then there's not much of a use for them other than some light serving work.If they've got something special to them, then you can use them for a particular application. I kept a K6-2/200 in business as a development machine for years because it had onboard UltraSCSI, USB2.0 and a TV card (also because I'm really cheap).If all else fails, you can chain them together and use OpenMosix or distcc to set up a compile farm.   ;  Donate 3 of them to a school near you, keep 1 for light serving work. Either that, or use them as Linux LTS thin clients and have a workstation ready in every room of your house [grin]   ;  i also should have already mentioned i already have a renderfarm setup using 8 p3's i have with dr queue render queuing software... yes i have a lot of pcs :)however the renderfarm functions fine on its own and i thought i would do somewthign different with these p2s i have.   ;  i also built a general grid computing system using alchemi, but because i am not a programmer i was only able to calculate pi... not too useful so i just used the pcs for the renderfarm.   ;  I took my old K62/350, threw in a few network cards, installed linux on it and use it as a router.   ;  I've used a $15,000 UNIX terminal server as a printer stand...not sure if you have any printers you need lifted off the floor. Otherwise the power requirements (combined with the heat/noise they make) likely makes them useless. Maybe setup one as a DOS box if the soundcard is Soundblaster compatible.   ;Quote:Original post by MichalsonI've used a $15,000 UNIX terminal server as a printer stand...not sure if you have any printers you need lifted off the floor. Otherwise the power requirements (combined with the heat/noise they make) likely makes them useless. Maybe setup one as a DOS box if the soundcard is Soundblaster compatible.thats actually a good idea, consider one pc to be used as a dos box.;  I used to have an old PC that I used as a DOS box. Unfortunately, the power supply blew. I think it fried the entire motherboard. I am on the look-out for a new 'old pc' on which to install 'Betrayal at Krondor' and all of those old games I have.   