Computer Donation

My old computer has left and gone to a better place. Hopefully to a place where it will once again be actively used as a family's primary machine. I donated it.

During my sophomore year in high school, I took a 'Computer Engineering' course designed to teach the fundamentals about how computers functioned, what the components were, and to serve as a prep course for A+ certification. During this time, 'luckily' my family's computer up and died (motherboard gave out), and I was able to convince my dad to let me build the replacement system.

I spent days pouring over different component reviews, struggling to find the perfect match of performance and price. Finally, I had my system:

• AMD Athlon 1800+
• 512 MB Ram (DDR 2100)
• 80 Gig
• 32 MB Radeon
• DVD +- R/RW
• 17” CRT Monitor

All of this glory for only $400. My dad was so impressed, he bought three systems. The system I build was my primary PC for the next six years. It was replaced after I purchased my laptop for use at college.

Since that time, the PC has sat mostly idle under my desk. I would boot it from time to time to place games, but mostly I used it as a file repository. As external drives became cheaper, I found my use of the PC becoming less and less often; until I was only turning it one once every other month. Finally, I decided it was time for it to go.

I found a regional charity, PCs for People, that collects used computers and distributes then back to people in need. Sounds like a perfect fit. So, I backed up all my files, whipped the drive, and packaged it all up. This afternoon, I drove across town and dropped it off. Farewell.