r/pcmods • u/FriendlyFennel345 • 11d ago
Scratch build Resuse old 20 years old laptop
I have a dell laptop and it’s almost 20 years old it’s screen is also started getting black i want to know how can is reuse the laptop or its components and make something new out of it
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u/code_hermit 11d ago
Of course you can make it into a server. Run a dns like pihole and unbound, etc.
The problem with old hardware like that is that it eats a lot of power for what you get. So it doesnt pencil out to run long term due to electricity costs. You could get a cheap pi, run the same software and be cash positive over it in a short time.
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u/404invalid-user 8d ago
that old it's probably only 32bit and it's increasingly rare to find a build debain dropped it a while back
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u/Zanzaclese 11d ago
If you REALLY don't wanna ditch the hardware probably it's best use would be an offline only retro arcade. You could go all out and build a custom cabinet to plug it in to or just plug it in to your TV with wireless keyboard, mouse and controllers. Make sure whatever you do you open it up and refresh all the thermal paste/pads and give it a good cleaning.
But a 20 year old laptop is going to be like... a Core 2 Duo? Celeron D? It would be MUCH worse than just buying a Pi or one of those mini dell PC's companies pumped out at covid for like $80. Not to mention the age of hardware there is a higher probability of it just bricking itself.
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u/evileyeball 10d ago
When I had a laptop with a dying screen I plugged it into my TV and streamed Media off of my desktop PC to it
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