While moving from one nest to another (we’re lemmings here; RP it a bit) I realized I still have all computers I ever bought or assembled, except for those that literally broke beyond any hope of repair.
Some are no longer used daily but all work and being on a point in life where everything and anything in the nest needs to have a purpose or a function, led me think what actually renders a computer useless or truly obsolete.
I was made even more aware of this, as I’m in the market to assemble a new machine and I’m seeing used ones - 3 or 4 years old - being sold at what can be considered store price, with specs capable of running newly released games.
Meanwhile, I’m looking at two LGA 775 motherboards I have and considering how hard can I push it before it spontaneously combusts to make any use of it, even if only a type writer.
So, per the title, what makes a computer obsolete or simply unusable to you?
Addition
So I felt necessary to update the post and list the main reasons surfacing for rendering a machine obsolete/unusable
- energy consumption
overall and consumption vs computational power
- no practical use
Linux rule!
- space take up
In a very blunt answer in my specific case - the moment it can no longer serve as a DNS server. Which is a very low bar.
Running a computer with the sole purpose of having a DNS server seems like a huge waste of power, regardless how little power that computer uses.
Your argument is correct on its own, but seriously misses the point of all possible variations. Using locally generated renewables mostly defeats it; not discarding the machine means less ewaste. If you’re trying to be environmentally friendly - remember:
In that order. Since I cannot reduce the amount of computer I have already obtained, the next best thing is to reuse it. When that is no longer sensible - recycling is the third best thing.
As of today, locally produced renewable power is a scarce resource. Any use of it competes with all other possible uses. The usages who don’t get enough local renewable power get it elsewhere. So the waste argument still holds. Unless maybe you already have a solar panel on your house that generates superfluous power.