[RULE] Small hardware donations

[C David Rigby]

The value of old computer parts depends on location and a community's 
resources.  The non-profit I worked with in Virginia is so well 
resourced (largely due to an incredibly dynamic director) that anything 
less than a PII-300 complete system is not accepted as a donation.  In 
other places (including inside the US probably) a well-maintained 
486-based system still has value.

Of the components you mentioned, the RAM and CPÜs are probably the most 
valuable to keep as things that could be shipped elsewhere, since they 
are small, low-mass items that could easily improve an already 
functional system.  A RULE-based installation will run on a P-100 with 
16 MB of RAM (I have a 486DX4-100 notebook with 16 MB of RAM running 
RedHat-9, installed via RULE).  But upgrading it to a P133 and 32 MB of 
RAM will provide a big improvement in performance.  Rule of thumb:  keep 
things that are better than the most basic possible.  In this case, 
SIMMs of 8MB or larger, CPUs better than 100MHz.

The hard drives are another issue, however.  Probably too massive for 
their storage size to be worth shipping very far.  However, 500 MB is 
sufficient for a basic OS install, or a /home directory in a two-drive 
system.  I would not expect these items to be very valuable to others.

CDRigby

Paul Nijjar wrote:
> 	I volunteer for a project (Based in Kitchener, Ontario,
> Canada) that takes old donated computers and sells them locally. The
> specifications for our computers are growing, and we have quite a bit of
> usable hardware that is currently going in the garbage.
> 
> 	It might be possible for us to mail some smaller components to
> other groups. I am thinking of the following:
> 	- RAM (we are throwing away 4MB and 8MB 72 pin RAM)
> 	- CPUs (we have some Pentium-1 class CPUs, up to 133MHz)
> 	- Maybe hard drives (we have many 500MB drives)
> 
> 	My question: Would it be worth stockpiling these or other small
> items and then shipping them out? Are these components better than what is
> currently available in projects you work with/know of? Would they be
> useful? (I would imagine that the RAM might be, but I don't know.)
> 
> 	Another question: are there other smallish components we should
> stockpile?
> 
> 	Shipping costs might be an issue, especially if we ship out hard
> drives. We might be able to work out that issue when we get to it,
> however. I can't imagine shipping for small components would be that much,
> but I have been surprised before.
> 
> - Paul
> http://wclp.sourceforge.net
> http://www.theworkingcentre.org
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> 
> 


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