best cheap/free scores 1.1

[momaka]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Cases take up a lot of space -- until they are "built" into systems. When you have (hundreds each day to sort through, its easy to run out of space "storing" cases. Will you manage to "use" (build) them before the next hundred+ comes in, TOMORROW?

You'd be amazed at how quickly you can fill a 40yd rolloff with "scap metal"!

I know, but I'm not talking about the everyday modern Dell and HP cases here. I'm talking about oldschool beige ones with a hefty weight to them. And possibly the older high-end "custom" cases too.

And yes, I realize you can still have a ton of those too, if you are a big recycler. But not having the space or the place to sell them to means your workplace just hasn't set up the right "supply chains" - i.e. teamed up with other businesses to process whatever you guys don't have time to process.

Scrapping a good solid case (or any useful hardware, for that matter) for just a few cents when it's still worth upwards of 10's of dollars on the used market is inefficient recycling at best.

But i get it - big bosses in most places are just after the easy bucks. Whatever gets the most profit in the door with the least effort.

No wonder we have so much solid waste in this country.
And now with China not accepting plastics unless they are over 90% clean (or something along those lines) means our recycling programs will have even worse recycling "efficiency" than before (IIRC, it was somewhere around 25% for recyclable plastics prior to this). But I'm getting more than off-topic here, so I'll just cut it off here.

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

And yes, I realize you can still have a ton of those too, if you are a big recycler. But not having the space or the place to sell them to means your workplace just hasn't set up the right "supply chains" - i.e. teamed up with other businesses to process whatever you guys don't have time to process.

No, "computers" are just too much of a commodity product. They have very little value when retired.

Attached, 5 pix from a recent auction. Five 40x48 pallets. Sold for $100 to $275. Each pallet having ~35-40 "computers". So, $2.50 to $7 per computer.

And, these would actually BOOT if you applied power (disks haven't been pulled NOR wiped!).

That gives you an idea of the recycle value of a computer. BEFORE you add labor (costs) to disassemble them! And, arrange for all of the nonrecyclable materials to be disposed (trash).

If it doesn't "sparkle" (even if just a little bit), and can't be sold in a big enough lot (e.g., a pallet of identical machines that a broker would likely be able to leverage into some resale use), its not worth taking the time to make it saleable.

A full disk shelf is worth $10 -- assuming AS-IS, WHERE-IS -- and assuming you can be trusted to wipe the drives before disposing of it/them! (I think disks are $0.05/lb regardless of capacity). And, shelfs are really easy (cheap labor) to tear down -- all the drives pull out, ditto power supplies and interfaces. Toss parts into respective crates and move on to the next one.

Scrapping a good solid case (or any useful hardware, for that matter) for just a few cents when it's still worth upwards of 10's of dollars on the used market is inefficient recycling at best.

If it costs $10 (labor to remove all of the "other" components) to recover that case, some amount of space ($) to store it, and some amount (time/money) to sell and SHIP it, then scrapping is the MORE efficient way of processing it.

A 40yd rolloff costs very little (labor) to fill. It is picked up in one load (instead of being shipped out a box at a time via UPS). And, the entire load is processed at its destination, by an organization that is optimized for processing that type of material.

I've been involved with this stuff for ~20 years, now. There's never been a magic solution that justifies the extra labor it inevitably requires. Had lots of wide-eyed folks wringing their hands thinking of all the money they could make refurbishing this stuff... and, each gives up when confronted with the scale of the problem!

[Electronics are considered hazardous waste, here. So, anything YOU can't pass on becomes YOUR responsibility for proper disposition. You can't toss it in your household trash, a dumpster, etc. An individual can, undoubtedly, slip a few items into their trash. But, doing so on an ongoing scale is going to get you "noticed".]

OTOH, for "select individuals", it can be a great way to get decent kit for low dollars (though often a fair bit of time trying to piece together the system you want from the parts you've got!).

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

^
The odd and unusual is my area.....while still not worth a fortune, its fun.....and I've made a buck. There is definitely money to be made in scrapping, or people wouldn't do it.

I'd agree about refurbing a bunch of old Dell and other useless/worthless hardware...if doing it for profit in resale, you'll starve. OTOH, I bought a VP6 off ebay a few weeks ago for $60. I recapped it, cleaned it up, and resold it for $225....and I had it on the market for less than 24hrs before it sold.

Now....pull that little gem I've got circled off the pile and send it to me, I'll gladly pay the shipping plus a few bucks for your efforts. That's an Enlight ATX tower.



I could make a dazzling retro gaming rig out of that!

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

^
The odd and unusual is my area.....while still not worth a fortune, its fun.....and I've made a buck. There is definitely money to be made in scrapping, or people wouldn't do it.

I'm only interested in kit that I can (personally) use. A set (3) of dual 4-core Xeons with 96GB of DDR3 may not be top-of-the-line... but, for scrap prices they're a steal! OK, so I have to dig to find another set of (matching!) optical drives. Or, "matching" video cards. <shrug> No big deal. I can pop open the case and swap things in and out as I "acquire" them.

I have a few collectible pieces (SB2000, Voyager, ASR33, etc.) but everything else is a "tool". I can make more money "designing something" than reselling something that someone else has designed!

I've a colleague who will collect any sun "big iron" on behalf of his employer (easier to buy big iron at scrap prices and refurbish it than to migrate all of the existing business systems to some other hardware/software!).

But, lots of stuff just has no market. There's a guy who has been taking all of the old (CRT) TVs. But, its only a matter of time before he comes to the realization that he simply can't process as many as become available. (And, to dispose of them typically costs $10-$15/each through "normal channels").

The cost of hauling off the 40yd container of cardboard roughly is addressed by the value of the cardboard IN that container.

OTOH, it costs money to have all the bits of plastic hauled off...

Etc.

I'd agree about refurbing a bunch of old Dell and other useless/worthless hardware...if doing it for profit in resale, you'll starve. OTOH, I bought a VP6 off ebay a few weeks ago for $60. I recapped it, cleaned it up, and resold it for $225....and I had it on the market for less than 24hrs before it sold.

The brokers that we see that seem to have the most success (i.e., "repeat business" to us) are those that can pick up 20 - 100 "identical" machines and sell them in lots or even individually. Any effort that they put into "box #1" directly translates to "box #2".

[Often, we sell lots with W7Pro preinstalled and a genuine COA. The license is often worth more than the machine!]

Now....pull that little gem I've got circled off the pile and send it to me, I'll gladly pay the shipping plus a few bucks for your efforts. That's an Enlight ATX tower.

I didn't attend the auction (and, so, didn't buy the pallet, nor do I know who did). I just used the photos (and final bids) as an example of what folks are willing to pay for "computers", here. If the seller could get more in recycle value, then they wouldn't bother selling them at auction (and having to warehouse them until that time)!

The City accepts used electronics as eWaste. But, has outsourced the handling of those items to another firm -- that, no doubt, tries to find gems among all the cruft (to justify their time and effort collecting all the other cruft).

And, many businesses, here, (including the City and County governments!) rely on recyclers to dispose of their eWaste as treating it as "trash" comes with a relatively high price tag for disposal (cheaper to GIVE IT to a recycler).

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Speaking of best scores, a few weeks ago I had the chance of getting a $4.90 PC from a gypsy that wanted to sell it along with a dead CRT. Turned out to be quite a gem and now that I look back, I'm actually glad I bought it.

Specs:

AGER branded case with nice sliding door on front panel

200W generic AT PSU that still works and just needed a new fan

dead Toshiba CD-ROM - replaced with Hitachi-LG beige DVD-RW(GSA-4167B)

Sony 3.5" FDD - still works, is in nice condition!

Maxtor 83240D4 3.2GB - main boot drive, has Windows 98 SE

IBM Deskstar DCAA-34330 4.3GB - formerly empty, now serves as retro games drive

Biostar MB-8500TVX-A Rev2.3 - had dead Dallas RTC chip, have rigged a CR2032 holder on top

48MB EDO RAM (72pin SIMM)

Realtek RTL8139D NIC - by far the only new component (2004 datecode) in contrast with the rest of the machine

Matrox Millennium MGA 2064W 4MB PCI GPU - still looking for a Voodoo 2 to add as this simply lags even in Abe's Oddysee (!)

Pentium 200MMX, 200MHz, Socket 7


Since then, its specifications have slightly changed:

-added a CT2770 SoundBlaster 16 Value ISA Soundcard (machine came with none)

-added a NEC USB2.0 PCI card (supported through NUSB36.EXE under 98SE)

To do:

-maybe find two more 16MB sticks to make 4x16 for a total of 64MB (currently 2x16 and 2x8MB)

-move the 98 install to the 4.3GB IBM HDD

-maybe replace the SB16 with a Yamaha YMF719?

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

And another machine I got for free today. Traded a broken Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo for it.

KME CX-1657 case
A-LINE LC-8500BTX - for the record, the innards aren't the slightest close to Deer.
ECS NForce3-A939 V1.0A
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Skt939
512MB RAM
300GB Maxtor 6L300R0 - one of the fastest IDE drives I have it seems.
HL-DT-ST GSA-4167B DVD-RW
GECUBE Radeon 9200SE GC-R9200L/SE
RTL8139D PCI NIC - which was completely unnecessary as the MB has its own NIC
Windows XP SP2

[mikay786]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Had a good couple of weeks at various Carboots, did a bit more travelling to check out some different ones as season coming to a close so though I'd stock up.

• Boston Acoustic MicroSystem CD - £4 - was laughing about this one as only bought as thought it would make a decent alarm plus it looked a little like the Bose Wave systems. Anyhow turned out to be a bit of a gem, complete with remote and fully working. At the time was thinking why did a buy this!
  
• Bose QC3 Noise cancelling headphones - £5 - tested working. Ear pad cushions both worn and need replacing but cheap enough. Otherwise in great condition complete with case, charger, 2 batteries. Only thing I need to source is a battery UK plug that slides into the charger. Can't seem to find any so will have to give Bose a call.
  
• Brand new Apple 4K TV A1625 - £17 - everything still sealed inside bought from a old couple. If I had to guess a gift from perhaps their kids and didn't have a clue what to do with it!
  
• Xbox 360E 250gb , games and Kinect - £20 - working
• Xbox 360 20GB Hdmi, Kinect and £20 or so games - £25 - working. Probably paid a bit much for it but had a couple of pads and needed one for another console which would have cost me about £13 on eBay so works out ok when you consider that.
  
• BT / Humax Freeview box 500gb - £2 - Working but no psu which I had to buy seperately.
• A couple of other cheapish freebie boxes 250gig model, HDMI and one just scart £3 or £4 each.
  
• 1TB USB drive - £3 - no psu but had one that fit 12v which did the job “. Working
  
• Olympus DS-5000iD digital voice recorder - £2 - nearly shat myself when i got home a Googled how much they were worth. Batteries had leaked and one terminal corroded / broke away. But still enough metal to make a connection. Thankfully has two seperate prongs which are used for the rechargeable batteries so isn't an issue. Could be a right score depending on how much they sell for. All working.
  
• 3 x Wiis, loads of games, fit boards other bits and pieces paid roughly £10 each on average
  
• 3 x original Xbox controllers. One crystal and a couple of the big dukes £3 each
• 2x ps1 consoles, controllers and some average games. One was chipped and loads of copies games. 2 x Nanci g-con guns. £5 and £20 for the chipped one

• Sonos Bridge - £2 - not sure what it does but recognised the name, brand new boxed.
• Pure Evok DAB radio - £2 - Untested no psu
• Bose Sound Dock Series 1 - £5 - Untested no 19pin “I” device to test with as of yet. No remote
  
• A couple PS2 consoles, games and controllers - £10 each
  
• PS2 rockband wireless guitar with game boxed £3
• Apple wireless aluminium keyboard - £1 - working. Had batteries in wrong way round. I didn't even realise and started taking it apart the “doh” moment.
  
• A couple of good ps1 games inc spyro 2 and crash bandicoot £2 and £3 each.

• Ps3 slim 160gb console only £10 untested
• Dyson V6 Total clean vacuum - £50 - Complete with all attachedment. Seems to work fine but when I got it home and tested in max power mode would cut out. Called Dyson CS just for technical advice and to my surprise was still under warranty and they sent me out a new battery free of charge. Brother has taken it at cost price but would have been a decent profit in it otherwise.
• A couple Dyson dc16 vacume cleaners, for cars and stuff not household stuff. £10 each. Batteries dead and missing attachedment and only a single charger.
• N64 console, psu and controller £15 - analog stick is dead loose on controller so needs replacing. Apparently can fix but looks a chore so just will replace. Untested as of yet.

• 2 x Samsung touch remotes. I think for their ES7000 / Es8000 series of tvs. £1 each - batteries leaked in one but no lasting damage. Both seem to work ok but can't fully test as don't own them tv. But they did work to turn on my own Samsung TV but other button I guess not programmed for my telly. But led flashes with all button presses so assume they are fine.

• Xbox original scart cable, which are quite rare these days. £1 untested
  2 x USB 3.0 to Ethernet adaptors. 1 Belking and one Microsoft branded. Working. Think I paid like 50p each.

Missed out on a Bose 7.1 acoustimass system, mint condition double cube speakers. Triple woofer sub and all cabling. They are worth about £500 - £650 ish, wasn't too upset as seller wanted decent money for it, think it sold for £250. Even though mint not sure I'd be conformtable spending that amount in a lump sum on one item at a carboot. Probably would have gone for it though.

That's quite a lot and probably missed some stuff, but that's over two weekends and about 6 different carboots worth of stuff.

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Yesterday I got some free stuff:

PCChips/Elpina M558 Rev3.0 - won't power on with AT to ATX adapter, but does turn on with a true AT PSU, but won't POST, came w/64MB RAM
ASUS M3A78 - powers on, just dirty
generic AWARD BIOS flash chip
S3 GT-i9300 LCD (which turned out to be cracked)
ASUS PCI WLAN adapter

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

A Catalyst 6513 w/ eleven 48x10/100/1000 modules! I'll have to check their specific capabilities (as well as the size of the power supply).

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

I've been involved with this stuff for ~20 years, now. There's never been a magic solution that justifies the extra labor it inevitably requires. Had lots of wide-eyed folks wringing their hands thinking of all the money they could make refurbishing this stuff... and, each gives up when confronted with the scale of the problem!

Actually had my proposal approved, today. I'll be able to demonstrate refurbishing ~1000 laptops/annually (at a rate of 20 in 5 hours). So, now I can finish laying out the boards and set up a bench dedicated to that purpose!

Once that works, doing desktop machines should be a relatively minor change (for comparable quantities).

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

And finish off the week with two MORE (loaded) 6513's! I'm going to have to scurry to find homes for these as they're just too damn big to keep around!

[mikay786]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Got a bit of pc hardware this morning, was very quite so slim pickings but I got to the seller first and he let me go through the back of his van first uninterrupted so cherry picked virtually all the good stuff

Everything untested as of yet
3 x 2tb segate drives (1 still under warranty)
1 x 1TB sshd drive
1 x 5tb toshiba x300 (broken Sara port)
Asus gtx 970 4gb mini
3 x cooler master power supplies. Modular gold rated. 700w and 500w
Couple other psus super flower and silvertsone 450w
Huge bequiet dark rock cooler missing mounting hardware
A few other bits pieces like usb 3.0 hard drive docks

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

if you open the superflower, post photo's of the fan controller please.
i have one with a broken resistor.

[mikay786]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

if you open the superflower, post photo's of the fan controller please.
i have one with a broken resistor.

I dont need to open as is working (outer side part of case had been smacked and shifted across, just pushed it back)

Model number is SF-450P14XE

If same let me know rough location and ill see if i can see it through grill without having to break the warranty seal.

[mikay786]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

So far tested

Gigabyte B700H Psu - Working. Looks to be some small dents up top but should be able to straighten out.
Super flower 450w psu - working
2Tb seagate (one with warranty) working

2 x 2tb - Faulty
1 x 1TB sshd - faulty
Also got a acer 23’ monitor - behaving oddly like going dim and bright. Colours seem out of tune and some glitches up to side of screen. Might try resetting ribbon cables inside otherwise will be faulty too.
32gb Kingston SD card - Faulty

Not bad so far considering I paid a £45 total for everything. Still plenty of stuff to test but unfortunately only have a intel nuc right now so is a bit of a chore plus can’t test gpu in it.

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

well you would need to break the seal - so never mind.
it's a model with a chrome button and a row of leds on the back to select the fan speed/profile
often has 4 fans too.

[mikay786]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

well you would need to break the seal - so never mind.
it's a model with a chrome button and a row of leds on the back to select the fan speed/profile
often has 4 fans too.

That’s a different model, this one doesn’t have fan control or leds.

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

$20 thrift shop find: APC XS-1300 UPS. Batteries are toast of course, but OEM replacements are $40. Not bad for a $200+ UPS. My server needed one of these desperately.

[dmill89]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

$20 thrift shop find: APC XS-1300 UPS. Batteries are toast of course, but OEM replacements are $40. Not bad for a $200+ UPS. My server needed one of these desperately.

Make sure to check the fan too, I had a similar unit (XS-900 Same chassis, but lower VA and no LCD) several years ago and it had a cheapo sleeve bearing fan that seized up causing the failure of the switching transistors and a bunch of the caps.

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

$20 thrift shop find: APC XS-1300 UPS. Batteries are toast of course, but OEM replacements are $40. Not bad for a $200+ UPS. My server needed one of these desperately.

I'd recommend the Panasonic batteries (I think that unit uses a pair of the 7.2AHr size) -- they may be a few dollars more.

I suggest disabling the noisemaker (unless you have REALLY stable power and.or want to be alerted to every little glitch in your power line!) and install a UPS daemon (PowerChute or something like apcupsd if you're running a FOSS OS) to sort out how and when to bring down the system as well as how and when to alert you to those events. I'm pretty sure that series doesn't accept NMC's so you'll need a bogus USB (?) cable for that (I think can be fabricated from a network cable).

[Here, we have a "switching transient" every night at 12:05AM. You can hear every UPS in the house kick in at that time -- for just a second or two. With noisemakers enabled, there'd be a flurry of chirps!]

I'd also disable the "periodic self-test" feature (IIRC, you can set this to Never, POST, POST+every week, POST+every fortnight). Let the UPSd keep track of the state of the battery (as reported by the UPS). Otherwise, you may find your server crashed, even with "good power" -- simply because the self-test kicked in and the battery was shot (and your load collapsed).

Depending on the power requirements of your server, you may also wish to either disable POST self test or discipline yourself to turn the server on AFTER the UPS has finished it's self test. (some of my larger servers have "upset" the UPSs that were powering them by presenting too large of a power-on load WHILE the UPS was in its self-test).

Also, that UPS has the ability to power down peripherals when your PC sleeps. You might not want that to happen for all peripherals (e.g., a router that might be used to process a "magic packet" to wake up the server!)