Old Computer Towers

[jaydj]

so i now have another new desk pc and just wanted to know if the 2 old pc towers i have are worth anything?......or do i need to just bin them!
thank you for your help

[Old_Geezer]

Just the cases, or the old PC ? I thnk there may be charities who can use old PCs.

If just the cases then they can probably be recycled. Or you may be lucky, but board sizes and where things are put change over time so you can't be sure a new board fits into an old case.

[daffy654]

I would never sell or give away an old PC with an intact hard drive. If you intend to donate or dispose of the towers please for your own security destroy the HD with a drill or hammer before doing so.

[jaydj]

Yes the cases still have everything inside.....I understand about destroying the hard-drives but didn't know if all the bits n pieces are worth selling or re-using again as it seems such a waste to dump in the bins?.......Thank you

[beso]

It aught to be illegal to dump electronics in the bin. It certainly would be extremely irresponsible. Firstly they contain several toxic materials. Secondly they contain recyclable materials.

Where I live the local council has an ewaste collection centre for recycling this stuff and actively discourage it going into general waste.

[Jeza]

Near where I live there is a company who take all old computer stuff and recycle it for the third world. Google computer recycling and look for your area. I will add in my area it is a charity so no rip off's

[venator]

Many modern disposal sites have separate areas for each class of waste - within 5 miles of my home (Manchester) there are 3 sites with computer disposal areas.
I presume someone assesses them for recycling.

BUT whatever you do, trash the hard disk. It's a screwdriver and big hammer job !

[jaydj]

Thank you all for your help :)

[MichaelZZ]

The hard drives in your old PCs are still useful!
You can very easily remove the old hard drive and pop it into a caddy to make an eternal hard drive which you can use for storing files and photos.
Try searching Amazon for "Hard drive caddy".

[Old_Geezer]

I do that.

Anyway I think folk can get paranoid over hard disks. I'm sure writing over the whole thing with random data effectively destroys everything save for maybe the most forensic type data retreival, and few have anything worth knowing and written to disk to make that worthwhile.

[jaydj]

Thank you all