With the AI apocalypse in full swing, and impending doom upon us, now’s the time to take a closer look at your old computers.
AI has raised prices on modern consumer hardware, making RAM, Memory, and CPU’s an overpriced luxury. Desktop builders are forced to harvest parts from older computers, not to mention, the price increase has them nostalgic for retro PC gaming.
This has made older computers and components more valuable.
Old Computers 2007 & Up (The Win XP Era)
I recommend this era because it’s far easier to find computers within it, and there’s greater demand. People want to go back far, but not too far if you know what I mean. The early 2000’s also happen to be a nostalgic era for gaming as 3D games started hitting shelves in droves. In 1997, gaming went from 2D pixel games to full-on 3D shooters. By the 2000’s it was in full effect, with Win XP being released in 2001.
AI has dramatically raised price for modern memory like SSD’s and NVME’s. Because of this, even older and slower memory like HDD’s have doubled in prices as consumers are looking for something, anything cheaper they can store their digital life on.
Older hard-drives have become increasingly popular for storage, as they are found to be more reliable than modern NVME drives.
If you have older computers, desktops, or laptops you might be missing out on easy sales. Removing hard drives on desktop computers is easy. Simply take the cover off the tower using the access lever, disconnect the 2 cables and slide out the hard drive.
The size of the hard-drive matters, as larger 250GB+ drives are preferred. 250GB drives started being common around mid 2000’s, with 500GB becoming common in the late 2000’s.
There are some other components you can harvest as well. I recommend pulling out any RAM that’s greater than DDR3. Even though the world has moved on to DDR5 RAM, the ram shortage has video gamers looking for older-and-affordable RAM to install in their systems. New DDR5 RAM is incredibly overprices, with some hitting $700+! This is for RAM that was over half the price a year ago –no thanks!
You’ll find DDR3 ram in 2007-2015 computers. Early 2000’s computers were DDR1 & 2, which can still sell, just not for much.
Even older CPU’s are selling better. i5’s especially, which were installed in computers from 2009 and onwards. It’s a not a bad CPU at all and can still be used today with compatible motherboards. i3’s can also sell, as these were common in the retro era of PC gaming (early 2000’s), but don’t expect much. For an i3, $10-15 is the typical sales range.
So now you have 3 things to save from an old computer:
- Hard Drives ($20+)
- DDR3 RAM ($20)
- i3 or i5 CPU ($10-50)
You might find yourself with $50-100 worth in parts depending on how big the HDD and RAM are. Considering how many people toss these older machines out, you really have nothing to lose other than a little time.
Other Components to Consider
Another component you might want to harvest is the cd/dvd disc drive. Disc drives stopped being installed in desktops and laptops, and are becoming harder to find. With more PC enthusiasts building disc burner towers for duplicating/burning CD’s and DVD’s, they might not be selling for much right now, but I fully expect that to change as discs become popular for storing digital files on cold storage away from AI. As modern memory continues to grow in price, people are slowly rediscovering discs for affordable cold storage.
The last component inside you might want to consider harvesting is the Graphics Card. Older cards do not go for much, usually $10-15 or so, but anyone building a retro desktop will want a graphics card to match, and since you opened up your computer you might as well grab it. Something to consider.
Let’s talk about keyboards. There’s a growing trend of PC users wanting 90’s-00’s era keyboards with the chunky aesthetic and feel. So much so, that some 2000’s era keyboards easily fetch over $50. Brand and style are the greatest factor. The early 2000’s saw a lot of unique keyboard releases… many of which sell well today.
At the very least, even generic chunky keyboard can fetch at least $20.
Tip: to see what hardware your computer uses (RAM, CPU, Disc Drive, keyboard, etc), simply power it on and open ‘System Information’, which will show you exactly what hardware the machine is using.
Retro Dell Computers
Nostalgia is hitting hard for 2000’s Dell desktops, and many are actively searching for both complete desktops and parts from to fix their own.
If you see a grey and black Dell tower, take a closer look. These are among one of the easiest to part out as there is better demand, and also easier to find as it was mass-produced.
Active buyers means faster sales.
The dell computer in the picture sold for $80 + $88 shipping, for a grand total of $168. It’s somewhat of a pain to ship whole towers if you do not have packing peanuts, so definitely get some before you list.
If you can’t ship out a complete one, part it out!
Don’t Sleep on Older Computers
Not only is parting out older computers a way to make a little extra, but it also reduces e-waste.
With the interest in retro pc gaming, there’s a growing interest in older hardware. Many gamers want a vintage Windows 95-XP build to play that era’s games on, in the name of nostalgia.
They’ll buy that era’s video graphic cards, cpu’s, motherboards, and ram, just so they can rebuild their childhood computer.
And like you read: they’re also buying older hard-drives, ram, and cpu to use in modern builds!
Don’t skip on older computers!