What can be made from a PC motherboard. What to do with an old computer if it starts to work poorly

“The need for invention is cunning,” says the old proverb, and computer enthusiasts have never complained about a lack of creativity. Unusual computer cases are one of the manifestations of developed imagination and resourcefulness. These people are not stopped by the fact that after purchasing suitable hardware there was no available funds for a housing for it. “Kulibins” prove that a lack of funds is not an obstacle when assembling a computer. This material about cool PC cases is dedicated to the creations of such creative people.

I bought a case, but didn’t have enough for hardware

There are also situations when you have a high-quality case at hand, but there is nothing to put in it. What to do in such a situation? You can find a set of iron “from the time of dinosaurs” at a flea market, but not everyone will like this approach. Such components make noise, collect dust, consume electricity, and can even break at the wrong moment.

American enthusiasts have developed a Raspberry Pi mini-computer, priced at about $30, which is slightly larger in size than a credit card. The board of this little one contains a filling comparable to that of an average smartphone, and when installing the Linux OS, such a PC can be used for watching movies, surfing the Internet, and other simple tasks. In the example given, just such a computer is installed in a desktop PC case.

The supermarket will help us

Do you have access to old fruit containers at the supermarket or green market? Then you can make a cool PC case for just a hundred rubles. A potato box, some cable ties, and the case is ready.

This PC can be called an example of minimalism and ingenuity rolled into one, but there are stranger computer cases.

All my life I dreamed of a laptop

I want to powerful laptop, but you don’t have enough money, and taking out a loan is not an option? Then a toolbox and a matrix from an LCD monitor come to the rescue. A little ingenuity, and with a flick of the wrist the whole thing turns into a laptop.

Of course, in terms of weight, such a machine will be 2 times heavier than a laptop, and you also need to carry the keyboard and mouse with you. But, of course, this example deserves a place in the selection of the most unusual computer cases.

Making an iMac with your own hands

Apple computers are not a cheap pleasure, but Lenovo all-in-one PCs Although they cost less, they are also more expensive than a desktop. But what if you want an all-in-one PC? You can tighten your belt and save up on an iMac, or you can just take the stuffing from a laptop with broken screen and a desktop monitor. A little double-sided tape, a couple of self-tapping screws - and we’ll meet new model iMac.

For a complete ambience, all that is missing is a bitten apple, as well as a silver color. But this is not a problem either: a trip to the building materials store (for a can of silver) and the grocery store (for a kilogram of apples) can solve the problem. At the same time, vitamins into the body after a long winter.

Another example of how to make a candy bar with your own hands.

Second life of a cardboard box

In the era of the development of online stores, everyone in their home gradually accumulates great amount packaging containers in which purchases are delivered. Sometimes it’s a shame to throw away good boxes, and the space in the pantry quickly runs out. You can breathe a second life into the box by using it as a PC case. This is especially rational if the brand new hardware in it came from the store.

This approach is very popular among the people; the Internet is replete with pictures showing such unusual computer cases.

If you don’t have time to do handicrafts or if you forgot all the skills learned in labor lessons in elementary school immediately after graduating from school, you don’t even have to bother with scissors and tape.

And that will do. And even like this:

Subtle and tasteful

Sometimes unusual computer cases can pleasantly surprise you. Sometimes this is the fruit of careful work, and in terms of price they are comparable to factory models.

The production of such a case, made in the spirit of minimalism, probably cost several hundred rubles per plexiglass. And considering that all the parts were neatly fitted, the owner also spent more than one hour working on it.

And this is actually a masterpiece, and making such a cool PC case definitely cost the craftsman a pretty penny.

Poor fish

Effective heat dissipation and a stylish look rolled into one also deserve a place in the selection of unusual computer cases. We can only hope that the owner purchased the aquarium specifically for the PC, and the fish did not have to set off on a free voyage.

By the way, if someone wants to repeat this step, they need to take into account that water cannot be poured as a liquid. For these purposes, synthetic or mineral oil, for example, transformer oil, is optimal. In any case, the liquid must be electrically inert.

Computer in a canister

Another example of using outdated containers, this time plastic. Such a machine would fit seamlessly into some fuel warehouse or car service center. There, such a strange computer case would not stand out against the background of the general situation.

Cooling is never too much

This is probably the slogan that guided the owner of this strange computer case, made entirely of fans. But such a large number of turntables consume quite a lot; they probably require another power supply. And one can only imagine the noise that rises in the room when such a monster is turned on.

Once and for all

This is exactly what you can call such an unusual computer case. Polyurethane foam is very difficult to remove from surfaces, and if any part fails, you will have to sweat to get to it.

By the way, this is another example of recycling vegetable boxes.

For those who are tired of constant laptop overheating

It seems that the owner of this laptop is tired of constantly cleaning his computer from dust, regularly changing thermal paste and dealing with overheating. Otherwise, why else would there be a need to install a powerful water cooling system on a laptop.

True, it is difficult to call such a design a laptop, because we are not talking about any mobility. That is why this masterpiece of “engineering” was included in the selection of the strangest computer cases.

Desk lamp

If you still have non-functional components after upgrading or repairing your computer, do not rush to throw them away - they may still serve you.

For example, in skillful hands such components can turn into a wall lamp. Well, if you work as a systems engineer (or as they usually call it, a computer engineer) or an administrator, then you probably have entire deposits of these pieces of hardware. Let's see how you can make an original wall lamp from them.

Collect all unnecessary components that you have prepared for disposal. It would be nice if among them there were three old “lying” cases - they will serve as the basis for the lamp.

To work you will need:

• drill
• wire with light bulb socket and plug
• small screws, bolts, nuts and washers
• wire cutters, screwdriver and pliers

We connect the three outer covers of the body in the form of a flower petal. The flower turns out to be large, iron, and easily bendable. They are easily connected if you drill holes with a drill and insert bolts there: the metal is soft, pliable, thin.

To insert the cartridge, select a piece of iron with a hole in the center. Typically, such pieces of hardware are found in power supplies, and the bottom covers of old drives can also have this shape. It is easy to attach such a piece of iron to the entire structure, since it usually has many small holes.

Having secured the socket in the center, you can then upgrade the lamp with an endless variety of small parts that make up all computer components. This task is made easier by the presence of many holes in them, through which you can use wire or long bolts to connect all the parts into an incredible structure.

You can improve such a lamp by adding new parts to it ad infinitum. The main thing is to stop in time.

Fan

What to do if the computer died, but its power supply is still alive? With summer inevitably approaching, all that remains is to make a fan that you can take with you.

I’ll say right away that not everyone will get such a fan (or it won’t work the first time), but the idea is worth the time you spend on its implementation. Disassemble the computer’s power supply: from there we will need the fan itself and a switch.

For those who are used to doing everything themselves, to understand all the intricacies of the repair business: Repairing an apartment with your own hands - a site telling about modern technologies in repair, building materials, features of their application.

We will also need AA batteries and a holder for them. There should be 6 batteries in total, and the holder can be taken from an old battery-powered toy.

We insert the batteries, connect them with a switch, and connect it to the fan. All that remains is to secure the entire structure with tape.

Enjoy coolness anywhere!

Business card holder

How much remains after the death of a computer. And it’s a pity to throw away all this iron trash, because you can make a lot of, albeit unsightly, but quite useful things. You can make an original lamp from old cases, a portable fan from a power supply, and a beautiful construction project from screws and fan grilles. And some designers manage to make computer components even the most “Shoes for real geeks” rel="dofollow" href="http://knitly.com/3593" target="_blank">real shoes. However, you can do nothing at all, but just take it and use it.

Let's take, for example, a heatsink from a motherboard or video card, which is used for cooling. It is massive enough not to tip over from shocks; it can even be placed on the base with glue and attached to any flat surface. This heatsink makes excellent business card holders. The first time I came across this use of heatsinks from motherboards was when I was still working at a computer company - all of our engineers had entire exhibitions of multi-colored heatsinks, which they used as holders for business cards.

However, you can not only store business cards in this way, but also, for example, unread correspondence that requires attention. And if you use several radiators different color, then you can also sort this correspondence by degree of importance.

One day we are faced with the need to do something with an outdated and no longer needed computer equipment. Throw it away? Sell? Use the leftovers on a designer watch or keychain? This will be discussed further.

Indeed, the desire to “sell” usually collides with laziness: from a reluctance to simply monitor prices to a phobia of communicating with strangers on the phone. And in order to throw it away, you still need to get to the right place! Not to mention that most electrical equipment must be disposed of properly.

Sell ​​as is

The first thing that comes to mind is sales. If your equipment was kept in good condition, the desktop was periodically cleaned or ventilated, then all this can be sold for almost the same price that this filling now costs. It’s easy to find out: just look at a public announcement site like Avito and estimate the average price in your city, and then try to sell it a little cheaper (even reducing the price tag by 50-100 rubles can bring a profit).

It is not worth selling to repair shops and pawn shops, since it is less profitable. As a rule, the latter usually charge at half price, while the former know perfectly well how much they will sell something for and will try to convince you that you will not sell your pieces of iron for more than they would. It is clear that independent sale is preferable to such “intermediaries”.

For parts

You can try to sell partially failed equipment for spare parts - and again with the help of advertisements.

How do you know which old hardware can be sold for spare parts? Suppose your video card burns out, and it’s a pity to throw it away: but if you look, it has an excellent heatsink. You can sell it exactly at its price, since craftsmen who can adapt the old to the new are found in abundance.

And in an old dusty case, usually all or almost all the buttons work: they cleaned the dust, wiped the metal parts with alcohol - and off to sale. In short, you can even sell self-tanning in Africa if you want.

Do it yourself

Here it is appropriate to talk about various exotic uses of spare parts. But here you need to use not the most crooked hands: for example, you can make an aquarium from a desktop case or an old CRT monitor. Of course, it is worth remembering that glass required sizes Most likely, you will have to cut it out yourself, and also pay attention to the fact that the body does not turn out to be harmful plastic that will literally strangle the poor fish.

Alternatively, you can make it from a CD Wall Clock(and use keyboard buttons as numbers), from a mouse - a drawn cat with a tail, rings from buttons, earrings and other jewelry from capacitors. And this is not to mention the well-known key fobs made from processors.

In general, there is room for fantasy to unfold, if only necessary components at hand.

Server or multimedia center

Oddly enough, a functional PC no older than 15 years old can handle playing regular MP3s just fine. It is enough to add a capacious hard drive to it (but be sure to check whether the BIOS will handle such volumes!) and run cables for speakers.

By the way, built into the motherboard sound solutions in ancient times they were very far from even very cheap external ones, so it makes sense to get some kind of cheap PCI or ISA sound card.

As for playing movies, that's exactly what it's for. old computer won't fit anymore. Unfortunately for them, modern films in Full HD quality require serious power of both the processor and video card, and a 15-year-old “old man” simply cannot cope with this.

But the old computer can be used as a file or web server on which your website and your own mail server will run.

Nostalgia for the past

In fact, you can easily buy old computers from the 1990s yourself - they cost next to nothing today. And it will be a fully functional good old DX4-66 with a two-speed CD-ROM and a functioning 14- or 15-inch CRT monitor (and if you’re lucky, even with a “shield that protects against radiation”).

However, you can even buy this “pickup” if you’re lucky. But no, you won’t be able to sell it at a high price, and don’t even dream about it: such rarities have not yet fully become so: perhaps in ten years this will be the case, but not today.

In principle, you can try to sell an ancient PC (and the Mac will be torn off immediately) under the guise of “Retro from the middle of the last century”: the key to success is the correct presentation of your product.

And if you yourself want to buy something similar for yourself, then you’ve got the cards: from such a rare computer you can make a machine for old games, put Full Throttle, Duke Nukem 3D or some fighting game on it. Nostalgic for King's Quest 3, Leisure Suit Larry 5 or the Gabriel Knight trilogy? No problem: the old 386/486 will handle them with ease and will completely immerse you in the atmosphere of childhood.

And you don’t have to buy a desktop: if you have money, you can spend it on a laptop from those times, which have now reached the level of a “rarity” and cost quite a lot. But they will take up less space. Do you also remember how to use the trackball?

If you decide to purchase new computer or it is broken and cannot be repaired, and you do not know where to put it - this article is for you. Adapting an unnecessary processor and monitor requires a little imagination and effort. Let's look at some options for transforming old iron.

Brazier from the body

To build a barbecue, it is enough to separate sidebar system unit and take out the insides. This grill is great for barbecues in the country and is very functional. You can put not only skewers on it, but also a bowl for fish soup. It is also easy to place a barbecue grill on it.

To transform the monitor into an aquarium, you need to remove all the components from it, leaving only the plastic case. Place a glass aquarium in it. The monitor can be left in its usual form or decorated with stones, rhinestones, and sequins. Such an element of interior decor will express the originality and extraordinary thinking of the owner.

For the monitor house you only need a plastic case. Its filling depends on what kind of animal will live in it. For a hamster, it is filled with dry grass or sawdust; instead of a screen, a metal mesh is stretched in the form of a door. If the monitor will serve as a bed for a cat, the inside is covered with soft fabric and a mattress is placed on the bottom.

The sharpening machine requires a microcircuit hard drive, part with disks, motor and read head and sandpaper. Sandpaper is cut to the diameter of the disk, fixed with glue and connected to the motor. When using such a device, do not press the knives too hard against the disk.

For original clocks with a pendulum, the motherboard is removed from the system unit and HDD. The clock mechanism is attached to the textolite and the numbers for the dial are glued. A hard disk is used as a pendulum, which is mounted on a long perch. Such wall clocks will not go unnoticed by guests.

This is a convenient compact thing that allows you not to clutter up your computer with thousands of photos from your mother-in-law’s birthday or New Year’s corporate party. The data storage server can be designed in the form of a fairy-tale casket by placing a hard drive in a wooden openwork box unnecessary computer. On the back side of the casket, make holes for the output of wires for connecting to a PC.

This accessory will become a unique item, making the image of its owner unique. Keys can be matched with letters that form a word. To assemble the bracelet you will need fishing line, keys and an awl. Using a hot awl, holes are made on both sides of the keys and they are threaded onto a fishing line, connecting its free edges.

For earrings you will need keys and fastenings for them. You can select buttons with first and last name initials. A hole is made in the upper part of the button into which the metal hooks of the earrings are inserted. Such decoration will definitely attract attention and admiring glances to their owner.

The ego can be used as an element of interior decor or to play a joke on a work colleague. To create such a lawn, you need to disassemble the keyboard, lay out a layer of cotton wool, and place grass seeds on it. It is necessary to water such a lawn in the morning and evening, and within two days the first sprouts will be visible.

Original Mailbox will delight all neighbors and highlight the imagination of its owner. The old system unit must be freed from internal contents and the drive must be removed. The hole from it will serve as a place for immersing correspondence. This structure needs to be secured to a post and installed near the house. For a more attractive look, the box can be painted in bright color and write a funny inscription.

To do this, you need to remove the processor, motherboard, and video card from the old computer and connect them to the TV.

Get gold

Gold is contained in small contact elements motherboard. You can extract it from there using chemical reagents. To do this, they are removed from the board and a series of chemical procedures are carried out. It is worth noting that you can get very little gold, and the procedure itself is very dangerous.

For such an invention, you need to purchase a TV tuner, connect it to your PC and install a suitable operating system.

To use the cooler on hot days, you need to disconnect it from the system unit, leaving the red and black wires, install it on a stand and connect it to the trigger mechanism with a motor.

To make a hanging shelf, you need to unscrew the side panel of the system unit and screw in the loops to attach such an original piece of furniture to the wall. The shelf can be painted in your favorite color.

Such simple transformations will allow you not to throw your old non-working computer into a landfill and find new, original and useful things in everyday life.

Many people have old computers that they don't know what to do with. Most people throw away or sell old equipment when they buy new ones. After all, using Windows on it is not very convenient. But instead, you can turn your old computer into file server, caching proxy server, smart TV, cloud storage, or even your own, full-fledged cloud using the operating system Linux system. Special Linux distributions are undemanding in terms of resources, and the possibilities of Linux in this regard are limitless.

In this article, we'll look at eight recommendations for using an old Linux computer. These are only eight options, but not a complete list. You can turn your old Linux computer into something else, as Linux allows you to do so much. Now let's get to the list.

Linux is ideal for organizing file servers and serving files. You can create network folder With using Samba or NFS, accessible to all computers on your network. At the same time, the file server does not require very serious resources from the computer, so using an old Linux computer for this task is a great idea.

2. Synchronization server

These days, many users have more than just one computer. These can be laptops, workstations, tablets and smartphones. When you have many devices, save identical files on all devices can be a difficult task.

Some will say that there are cloud services for this, such as Dropbox or Google Drive and they are right. But in such cloud storage you get limited disk space, and the company providing the cloud can access your files.

If you want more security, a decentralized synchronization solution comes to the rescue. You can create a synchronization server on an old machine and have access to all the necessary files from the network at any time. You are not tied to any cloud service and are limited only by the size of your hard drive.

To do this, you can use programs such as SyncThing, Bittorrent Sync.

3. OwnCloud Server

You need best alternative Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive? You can deploy your cloud on an old computer using an open source project source code OwnCloud.

Unlike the previous two options, OwnCloud is not a simple file synchronization protocol. Yes, there is an application here that you can install on Windows, Linux and even Android smartphone, but there's a lot more functionality here.

This is a complete replacement for cloud storage services such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. During setup, you can install a range of applications to manage your data. There are many such applications, here are the most popular:

• Documentation
• Calendar
• Mail
• Contacts

Using old Linux computers for cloud service ownCloud, perhaps because the system does not consume many resources.

4.NAS

Do you need to create a system to meet all your data storage needs? Then you can turn your old computer into a NAS. These items are specially designed for storage. large quantity data.

This can be implemented using a special Open Media Vault distribution. It is specially designed to control hard drives and data, is based on Debian and has a ton of features.

5. Local media center

Local media server allows you to use different kinds television, such as Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, etc. Want to try it? Simply turn your old computer into a media center with a custom Linux distribution.

There are many ways to implement this idea, but the simplest is to install the Kodibuntu distribution, which is based on Ubuntu and provides a fully customized Kodi-based metacenter out of the box. Just install it on your old computer, connect it to your TV and enjoy.

6. Remote media server

If you cannot connect your computer directly to the TV, then this is not a problem, you can use another way. There are other media center programs. Let's look at how to turn old car in Plex or Emby media center.

With these media servers, you are not limited to one screen. Instead, you can store all your media in one place and stream it when needed to devices on your network. Both programs have several applications and a web interface to access them. This is one of the advantages of media centers.

It should be noted that to use older Linux computers, a media center requires decent hardware. Most DDR2-era computers can handle such workloads. But don't try to install Plex on your Windows 95 computer.

7. Caching proxy server

You slow connection with the Internet and have an old computer? Install a Squid proxy server on it. Why Squid? This is one of the best tools for caching Internet traffic. This can significantly reduce bandwidth by caching frequently accessed pages.

Using a proxy server on a separate computer will allow you to set up transparent proxying, this will give you the opportunity to pass absolutely all traffic through the proxy server.

These things are ideal for those who use low-speed Internet connections.

8. Firewall

Most effective method set up a firewall that reliably protects your local network or home computer- is to use a separate server. At the same time, the firewall does not require very large computing power at home use, so you can use an old computer for this task.

Configuring packet filtering on a separate machine allows you to filter absolutely all packets passing from and to your machine. In addition, this will become another protective layer of your network.

Bonus. Try Linux

Want to try Linux? Find out how it works? Make your old computer a practice machine. It doesn't matter whether you can figure it out or get confused, because it is not used as the main computer. If you are serious about mastering Linux, this is a good path.

conclusions

Now you know how to use your old computer. Although these machines are low-powered, in the past and even now you can do a lot of things with them. Media server, OwnCloud, Nas, Caching server, firewall. There are so many things you can do with using Linux and if you include them all in this list, it will be endless.

The downside in the case of network storages and the clouds here can only be that the computer must always be turned on and will consume electricity.

What did you make from your old computer? Share in the comments!