Could you repurpose those old desktop pieces for something?

F5F Stay Refreshed Power Users Networks Could you repurpose those old desktop pieces for something?

Could you repurpose those old desktop pieces for something?

Could you repurpose those old desktop pieces for something?

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Dragonaucube3
Junior Member

19

06-25-2026, 09:28 AM

#1

I don't know if it's possible to do this. I own my old desktop parts: the motherboard, graphics card, memory, and power supply. My drives and the computer case are gone. The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3-B3. Can you tell me if I can put all that in a small case? Would running it on my home network make it act as a video and music server, maybe even a seedbox? Or is this old machine more powerful than something like that needs to be? We own a bigger apartment now than before, so the system could live somewhere quiet outside our usual place. I was wondering if anyone had ever tried this on eBay or if there are simpler ways with just an extra Raspberry Pi (I have one spare). Thank you!

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Dragonaucube3

06-25-2026, 09:28 AM #1

I don't know if it's possible to do this. I own my old desktop parts: the motherboard, graphics card, memory, and power supply. My drives and the computer case are gone. The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3-B3. Can you tell me if I can put all that in a small case? Would running it on my home network make it act as a video and music server, maybe even a seedbox? Or is this old machine more powerful than something like that needs to be? We own a bigger apartment now than before, so the system could live somewhere quiet outside our usual place. I was wondering if anyone had ever tried this on eBay or if there are simpler ways with just an extra Raspberry Pi (I have one spare). Thank you!

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LordMarie
Junior Member

32

06-25-2026, 12:38 PM

#2

You still don't need to spend money on a special graphics card for a media server. You can try using an old, cheap CPU with built-in graphics if you have one. It might not be powerful right now, but it will probably work fine for your home stuff.

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LordMarie

06-25-2026, 12:38 PM #2

You still don't need to spend money on a special graphics card for a media server. You can try using an old, cheap CPU with built-in graphics if you have one. It might not be powerful right now, but it will probably work fine for your home stuff.

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xRawzx
Member

177

07-09-2026, 09:01 AM

#3

I just mentioned having parts, but I didn't think I'd need to use them. If I hadn't said that someone would have asked, "do you have a GPU on your system?" 😆 And yes, the CPU is there too, along with its basic fan. How am I supposed to test it without a monitor connected? Honestly, I don't know how to set anything up if I can't see anything. Just install windows on an HDD and use my regular monitor to get everything working temporarily? How do I troubleshoot in the future if I can't see a screen? Surely you don't leave something like this running with a big monitor all the time??

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xRawzx

07-09-2026, 09:01 AM #3

I just mentioned having parts, but I didn't think I'd need to use them. If I hadn't said that someone would have asked, "do you have a GPU on your system?" 😆 And yes, the CPU is there too, along with its basic fan. How am I supposed to test it without a monitor connected? Honestly, I don't know how to set anything up if I can't see anything. Just install windows on an HDD and use my regular monitor to get everything working temporarily? How do I troubleshoot in the future if I can't see a screen? Surely you don't leave something like this running with a big monitor all the time??

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MrCarlNL
Member

57

07-09-2026, 10:25 AM

#4

To start this up, you just need a monitor. You don't actually need the disk driver or the graphics card (GPU) to test it out. Simply plug the monitor into a port on the motherboard and hit enter. It should show up in the BIOS screen and let you move around from there. Depending on what you plan to do with it, you can easily set things so that it boots and runs even without a keyboard, mouse or monitor attached. I would think about running a Linux version instead of Windows because it's easier to control remotely once everything is ready. It also fixes the problem where you can't get an old version of Windows while trying to get a new one working, plus Microsoft wants $100 for just upgrading Windows 10 even on very old junk hardware.

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MrCarlNL

07-09-2026, 10:25 AM #4

To start this up, you just need a monitor. You don't actually need the disk driver or the graphics card (GPU) to test it out. Simply plug the monitor into a port on the motherboard and hit enter. It should show up in the BIOS screen and let you move around from there. Depending on what you plan to do with it, you can easily set things so that it boots and runs even without a keyboard, mouse or monitor attached. I would think about running a Linux version instead of Windows because it's easier to control remotely once everything is ready. It also fixes the problem where you can't get an old version of Windows while trying to get a new one working, plus Microsoft wants $100 for just upgrading Windows 10 even on very old junk hardware.

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godfreydtm
Member

214

3 hours ago

#5

I really want to try installing Linux. I need to figure out how to actually use all of this stuff. What will a day look like? How do I wire it up? I prefer putting my videos on the TV over ethernet because that's much less laggy when playing 1080p video.

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godfreydtm

3 hours ago #5

I really want to try installing Linux. I need to figure out how to actually use all of this stuff. What will a day look like? How do I wire it up? I prefer putting my videos on the TV over ethernet because that's much less laggy when playing 1080p video.