[Paul101]

Dear all,

Bit of an odd posting I know, but I have been set a challenge to build a PC for free! Does anybody know of anywhere in the UK where I might be able to get free PC parts (motherboard, monitor, hard drive, fan, graphics card - the works...)?

Really, I would be willing to dive head first in to a landfill if you thought it'd be worth it!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul

Please do not include an e-mail address in any post as it could lead to more contact than you intended

Edited by Keith, 11 April 2006 - 07:59 AM.

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The local scrapyard would be your best bet or a landfill, although the components you find in these places are generally there for a reason - they don't work.

Failing that, very old pieces of hardware go for next to nothing on places like eBay and what not.

[Neil Jones]

The local scrapyard would be your best bet or a landfill, although the components you find in these places are generally there for a reason - they don't work.

Failing that, very old pieces of hardware go for next to nothing on places like eBay and what not.

[warriorscot]

Local councils often throw away the systems and they dont check where they go they just "go to the tip" so if you know someone then its a good way to get one same goes for some companies operate on a "as long as it isnt here" system.

Also there is that new "recycling" thing you might have heard about it, its a website and you register on it and put things up for offer that you dont want anymore and would normally throw away, but instead you put it on here to see if someone wants it and could use it again, as far as i know computer parts are put up a fair bit as well as other random junk you might find useful.

Its done by area you might not have one local, its usually done by city, apparently its very succesful in the London area but i wouldnt know, i read about it and thought it was interesting but i never really looked into it, but it might be your best bet for stuff.

Other than that just ask around, you can usually get screws and some basic wiring odds and ends for free from your local PC shop if you ask nice. Scrapyards are a given you might find for example whole desktops and perhaps it doesnt work but the CPU might still be OK or the ram for example. I think decent HDD will be hardest usually people only throw them away once they have worn out.

[FuM]

Also recycleling plants destroy the HDD because of safety issues so u might find a good one in a few pieces [Some Assembly Required =)]

[Paul101]

Ah, good stuff. Thanks guys.

Part of the whole thing is that I don't just have to build it, but have to find out where it can be done throughout the country. I went to a couple of tips around Manchester (where I'm based) but it was all chair legs and fridge doors. I contacted the council but they seem bent on directing me towards places where you can dispose of your PCs, not where I could scavenge for random parts.

With this in mind, if you know of actual locations where I could find a mountain of monitors or a stack of scsi ports, let me know!

[warriorscot]

Did you try the disposal places the council directed to you, if you can contect them and "intercept" the computers before they melt them down for scrap(is its one of those places) then that would be ideal.

That recycling group i mentioned might be a good thing to look for it has a name but i cant for the life of me remember it its something obvious though im sure, and i think they have a manchester group. It would be something to look for but unfortunately im not even close to manchester so i cant help you with specific places.

[dsenette]

Also there is that new "recycling" thing you might have heard about it, its a website and you register on it and put things up for offer that you dont want anymore and would normally throw away, but instead you put it on here to see if someone wants it and could use it again, as far as i know computer parts are put up a fair bit as well as other random junk you might find useful.

i think that's freecycling

[warriorscot]

The monkey to the rescue again. Thats the stuff i was thinking of, and manchester has a large group so you might be in luck.

[Paul101]

Cool, I will check out freecycle.

Like I said, the challenge is part of a computer magazine article, so feel free to just put down a dispassionate list of places I could scavenge up and down the country. If you think it would be worth it, I am more than likely to visit! It's not just about building a PC for free, it's about seeing what I can get for nothing.