While moving from one nest to another (we’re lemmings here; RP it a bit) I realized I still have all computers I ever bought or assembled, except for those that literally broke beyond any hope of repair.

Some are no longer used daily but all work and being on a point in life where everything and anything in the nest needs to have a purpose or a function, led me think what actually renders a computer useless or truly obsolete.

I was made even more aware of this, as I’m in the market to assemble a new machine and I’m seeing used ones - 3 or 4 years old - being sold at what can be considered store price, with specs capable of running newly released games.

Meanwhile, I’m looking at two LGA 775 motherboards I have and considering how hard can I push it before it spontaneously combusts to make any use of it, even if only a type writer.

So, per the title, what makes a computer obsolete or simply unusable to you?

Addition

So I felt necessary to update the post and list the main reasons surfacing for rendering a machine obsolete/unusable

  • energy consumption

overall and consumption vs computational power

  • no practical use

Linux rule!

  • space take up
    • redballooon
      4·
      1 year ago

      I have a 12yo MacBook pro at home with some Linux installed that runs perfectly.

      Still I have absolutely no use for it. There’s nothing much else it can be used for than browsing the web. And for that I have lighter devices with a much better screen, so I prefer those anytime.

      • Lem Jukes
        1·
        1 year ago

        I have one of these a d wapped the old HDD for an SSD and it’s like a brand new machine. It’s still stuck on 10.13 but as a netbook and N64 emulator it’s great.