Vent: My coworker made me question if old hardware is worth saving

I've always been the guy who keeps old PCs running way past their prime... but after a talk with Tom in accounting last Tuesday, I'm not so sure. He said 'just because you can revive a 10 year old Optiplex doesn't mean you should' and pointed out how much power it wastes. Hit different because he showed me the electric bill for our whole office fleet versus newer units. Should I be looking at power usage more than the satisfaction of rescuing old gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

clark.iris1mo ago

Ha, Tom's not wrong about the power bill, but that's missing the point. For a home tinkerer's side project or a backup rig, that old Optiplex is still a solid learning tool and a way to keep functional tech out of a landfill. The office fleet is a different animal for sure, but for personal satisfaction and a low cost entry point into fixing stuff, I'd say keep rescuing them.

king.kevin1mo ago

Low cost entry point into fixing stuff" is exactly it. I've noticed this weird thing where people treat fixing anything as some kind of lost art, but really we've just gotten used to throwing things away because it's cheaper to buy new. That old Optiplex sitting in the corner is more than a computer, it's a reminder that not everything needs to be replaced the second it stops being the fastest thing on the market.