I’ve got a problem. I’m a technology hoarder. I still have the first PC I bought myself some 15 years ago cause “I might use it for something!”
My desktop after that one is an unRAID box. The one after that is my “lab” PC (3d printing, embedded projects etc) and then finally, my current generation main PC.
I want to upgrade my main PC soon (can’t run new games, CPU and GPU limited), which means potentially kicking everything else “down the chain” to a new purpose as it gets a slightly better version of itself. I find the thought of this exhausting though. So much configuration/setup to give upgrades to things whose existence is only because I didn’t want to part with functioning hardware.
My current thought is to “break the cycle” by condensing all non-primary functions to my current PC, as an unRAID box hosting everything other than main gaming PC. From there, the rule needs to be tech goes into one of those two boxes, or it gets sold/donated.
What do you all think. Is that reasonable? How do you manage your spare equipment post upgrade?
I might suggest a few things you can do if you’re trying to dejunk. The first is to use your old hardware for stuff like a game server,Nextcloud instance, or any number of things you could do to improve your digital QoL. I’d also try and give away old gear to folks you know that might be in need. For instance, I gave my old laptop to a writer friend of mine who I kid you not was writing on his phone, so I gave him my old laptop with a copy of Fedora Linux(Which I daily drive too, so I can help him if he needs any help w/ stuff) on it and he’s been using the hell out of that thing. The third thing I’d do if you can’t figure anything out to do with it is just to make sure its being stored in a place that’s out of the way and won’t cause storage issues for other stuff. Then you can just sit on it until it finds a use and if you do not have the space, just go ahead and get them recycled or something. I would definitely caution against keeping too much stuff as well as it really does negatively affect mental health.
Hope these ideas help some, good luck!
See I keep telling myself that I will put that hardware to good use, but never do. And that is why I end up with a hoard of 5+ year old hardware in the basement or closet…