Hey guys, it's been a long time since posting.

I have a situation with my old duallie Athlon. It's still fast & stable but it's no fun using this machine in a green fashion - ie. powered off whenever not in use.

Why? This duallie doesn't like to boot. I don't want it anymore. This machine is more suitable for someone who needs a server running 24/7.

I'm not likely to find a buyer for it (but i'll entertain any offers). But I digress.

At this point I'm wondering if it's more green to donate to charity, donate to family, recycle. I have a laptop now, and I don't need this duallie as a 2nd machine.

Facts: PowerAngel says it consumes 200Wh. I've had it for 5+ years running mostly 24/7. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's roughly 8.8gWh that this thing has burned through. At $0.10 / kWh that's $880 of energy!

If I donate/sell it, the utilities will still be burdened with this computer @ 4.8kWh everyday.

But if I recycle it, there's one less in the pool of used computers. Theoretically, this means someone could be buying a new one instead...

Which option is better? Is it a bigger indirect burden to the environment to recycle or donate/sell?

4.8kWh per day if runnning full bore all day isn't bad. At $0.10/kWh that's 48 cents a day. Probably less than most people's televisions. That machine may be obsolete according to bleeding edge pundits but it still has a lot of useful life in it. If you want to donate it send it here, hardware donations are gladly accepted

Donate to charity is what I'd do, powergyoza.

http://www.cfsbc.ca/
http://www.electronics-recycling.com/ca ... ations.asp
http://www.era.ca/donations/recycling/yancouver.html

As for the not liking to boot -- maybe it needs a new PSU? Give me a call, maybe I can help with a recycled PSU...

man, you guys and your $.10 / kWh electricity . they just raised rates again in my area and now i'm paying $.23 / kWh. i think it's cheaper in Hawaii. i've heard solar can be done for $.22, so wtf?!?! sorry, i digress.

i'd also suggest recycling for that old power hog. the type of person who would want a duallie would probably also want a lot of horsepower... they'd be much better off with the much higher performance / watt CPUs of today.

I'm thinking a lot about this issue (recycling vs donating) and haven't made up my mind yet. Right now, in the light of climate change and the crisis in the Middle East, I tend towards: Eradicate all mistakes, throw away your old computer (if it consumes more than 50 watts), make sure it gets disposed of properly and buy a laptop or a low power desktop.

That's great advice folks.

It's just thatt buying part that gets me. I'll get over it. This duallie tower is probably less of a burden recycled than it is kept in operation...

Is there some calculator on the internet that can weigh the pro's and con's?

Calculator -- never seen one.

If the mb makes it unreliable to boot, then that's the item that needs to be recycled.

But if the rest of the components are OK, perhaps the parts can be reused? The 3 Rs, right -- reduce, reuse, recycle, preferably in that order.

Don't forget that making new components is also bad for the environment and costs a awful lot of energy. So if it get's a second life where it isn't used all days 24/7, but more as a testing machine now and then, it could actually be "greener" then a new pc, I think.

The more I read about the horrors of raw resource production -- all the gold, copper, etc. that goes into our computers -- the more I agree with MikeC's reminder of "reduce, reuse, recycle" IN THAT ORDER. I'm beginning to see that my approach to green living is based on consumerism and finding more excuses to buy more things. Sure, buying a 21" widescreen LCD will save power over my 21" CRT, but what happens to the CRT then? And what kind of damage was inflicted on the environment to get that LCD into my house?

Anyway, as a practical matter donating computers is tough -- you have to be a pretty desperate nonprofit to want throwaway computers, because like other businesses, nonprofits also like to keep some level of control over their assets. It's a shame, really, but i'm sure if you put it up on Craig's list, if nothing else, you'll get a taker whether nonprofit or not!

And that's why I buy used components.

I pay $.178. Our grid is better than any other state's other than CA. That means slightly less dirty, not clean. We get a lot of power from combined cycle natural gas, which is very expensive. We need Millstone 4 and a new CT Yankee to reign in our juice prices.