Hello again, fellow readers and fixers! Now, salvaging parts from dead, broken, or just obsolete computers is a good way to reduce e-waste. Often, it is one or two key components that break or die, while the others continue to work.
There are inevitable moments when computers just go kaput. Whether it’s a component that suddenly dies or becomes faulty; or your computer slips out of your hands. And when it slips out of your hands, it gets cracks or large dents on hitting a hard surface. Very commonly, you could accidentally spill your favourite drink over your laptop that then suffers liquid damage as a result. And sadly, sometimes we just can’t get them working good as new again…
But just because a computer doesn’t work properly any more, it doesn’t mean we should throw it away! It’s worth salvaging the parts that still function just fine for reuse and repurpose. Today, we’ll list at least some of the parts, which you can carry over to another machine. Or which you can turn into something else altogether!
Parts that are worth salvaging
The various parts that make up a whole desktop PC or laptop each serve different functions. They typically comprise of a case, CPU and heatsink, motherboard, RAM, internal storage and PSU. Laptops have these, as well as a screen, Bluetooth, WiFi, a webcam, keyboard and touchpad. Let’s go over each of the most essential parts.
Internal storage
By internal storage, we refer to hard drives, SSDs and eMMC modules. They store the operating system, along with any user data. Salvaging hard drives and SSDs is quite straightforward. You simply unfasten the screws holding them in place, and pull them out. They are quite flexible with how and where you use them. As a result, this flexibility makes them easy to reuse and repurpose.
You can install them into a caddy, and connect them to a Raspberry Pi or similar SBC. That way, you can store your personal files externally, freeing up space on the SD card or eMMC storage. Alternatively, you can load them up with your media collection, and play them on your TV with a USB port! Or, you can bolster your storage space in your desktop PC, as long as there’s room for the old drives.
On the other hand, salvaging eMMC modules is more difficult without specialist equipment. In laptops, mobile devices and some single-board computers, OEMs typically solder them to motherboards. So when the motherboard or the eMMC chip dies, there goes your personal data. Thankfully, there’s also removable eMMC modules that you can plug into a socket that accepts eMMC modules. So when the mainboard or SBC goes kaput, you just remove the module, and transfer it to another. We wish OEMs in general let people reuse eMMC (or even UFS!) modules in all sorts of devices!
Heat sinks & fans
Heat sinks are metallic parts that transfer heat away from CPUs, SoCs, or anything else that generates heat. They help regulate the temperature of components and keep them from overheating. Heat sinks can also support active cooling by combining them with a fan. Fans draw cool air into a device, pass it through the heat sink, and then expel the warmed air out. They’re easy to reuse, and you can use them to add active cooling to SBCs and desktop PCs. Just don’t use 12v fans on SBCs that support only 5v fans, though. Doing so risks damaging the fans and/or the SBC!
If your desktop PC has an after-market heat sink and fan, you can transfer it over to a new one. As long as the motherboard’s socket in the new machine supports it, you’re good to go. On dead or broken motherboards, it’s worth salvaging the chipset heat sink. It’s useful for keeping the SoC on single-board computers like a Raspberry Pi cool.
However, laptop heat sinks are more difficult to reuse in laptops. The problem here is that OEMs design laptop cooling solutions specifically for certain makes and models. This means that damaged laptops require a replacement heat sink, specific to those given models. They’re still worth salvaging, though, as you can repurpose them for something else.
Power supplies
Power supply units are components that convert mains electricity from the mains into low-voltage DC power. This DC power then enables the other components in computers and laptops to operate. Power supply units for desktop PCs typically come in ATX form factors. This is a standard form factor which allows for easy replacements.
Most AC adapters for laptops supply 19V at around 65W power, and as long as the connector fits, you can easily swap between them. However, some AC adapters output a different voltage and amperage for powering specific laptops. Also, adapters with USB-C/Thunderbolt connectors can switch between voltages and amperages to match different devices.
Workstation and gaming laptops often need more power than smaller laptops. This is because they use high-end CPUs and graphics cards which need a lot of power. Some of these laptops may need a charger, which outputs as much as 230W! So long as the power supply can produce more power than needed, it should work. However, usually you can’t use a lower wattage adaptor than a device needs. Although, some devices can take a slightly lower wattage power supply, but will operate at reduced performance – or not charge its battery while running – accordingly.
The problem with reusing power supply units is that their capacity to supply current diminishes as they age. This means that they might no longer sustain a desktop PC when they previously can. When this happens, at best they simply don’t operate at all; at worst, they may catastrophically fail. As in, explode. And when they explode, they may take other components down with them…
Motherboard/RAM/CPU
These three components are key parts which come together in a computer, hence why we’re grouping them together. The motherboard forms the basis of a typical desktop computer, since many other parts connect to it in different ways. The RAM is essentially temporary storage, where the operating system and other data load into it as necessary. When the system powers off, all residual data clears from the RAM. Finally, the CPU acts as the brain of the whole system. It performs all kinds of instructions from various software applications.
If all three parts work fine together, then we would recommend transferring them over as one bundle. This way, you can more easily house them in a new or spare desktop PC case. Keep in mind that different cases take different kinds of desktop PC motherboards. Basically, you can’t fit a full-ATX motherboard into a small case which takes only mini-ITX motherboards. But, you can fit a mini-ITX motherboard into a case which can take full-ATX or micro-ATX boards.
Compatibility between motherboard, RAM & CPU
The main thing which can make salvaging these parts more difficult is compatibility. While you can take them out of a broken desktop PC case together and put them into another case, you can’t really do the same in the case of laptops. Typically, manufacturers design and produce laptop motherboards for specific makes/brands and models. So for example, you can’t salvage the motherboard from a Dell laptop and put it into a Lenovo laptop.
As far as RAM goes, the position of the notch on a particular module determines which type it is. And so, you need to install it into the RAM slot, which matches the type of the RAM module. You can’t just force-fit the module into a slot which takes a different type of RAM module. This applies to both desktop PCs and laptops. However, in SBCs and many laptops nowadays, the RAM comes with the motherboard as soldered chips. This means that if the RAM becomes faulty, you’ll need to replace the whole board…
For CPUs on desktop PCs, you need to ensure that they fit into the matching socket type on the motherboard. For example, you can’t fit an AMD CPU which fits AM2 sockets, into an AM4 socket. Modern CPUs in laptops, mobile devices and SBCs come integrated to the board. Just like soldered RAM, if they go kaput, that means you will need to acquire a whole replacement motherboard.
Other parts worth reusing
Graphics cards
If you have a decent dedicated PCI-E graphics card which lets you play modern games at reasonable settings, then it’s worth salvaging it to put into a newer desktop PC. Just make sure that your power supply has the right connector(s), as well as enough headroom to support it. However, graphics cards with AGP connectors are obsolete, as modern integrated graphics are good enough for even some light gaming. Therefore, it’s not worth keeping AGP graphics cards, except for very old, but still functioning, desktop PCs.
Wi-Fi cards
Wi-Fi cards are worth salvaging, as they are useful for connecting wirelessly to your router. Many of these come in the form of PCI/PCI-E cards, so you can swap them between desktop PCs easily. Wi-Fi cards for modern laptops usually come in the form of Mini PCI-Express cards, or more recently M.2 cards. You can also swap these quite easily between laptops that have the same connector.
Again, there is a trend among OEMs to solder these directly to the motherboard to save a few pence on the connectors. This makes replacing and swapping broken and faulty Wi-Fi cards virtually impossible. If your laptop or desktop PC motherboard has a soldered Wi-Fi card, then you can use a USB Wi-Fi dongle to workaround this.
Batteries
As long as batteries from laptops and mobile devices are still in good condition and hold a charge, they are worth salvaging. If you have a compatible device with a dead battery. Two words of warning, though: one – never throw dead and worn batteries in among household waste! They contain chemicals which can contaminate other kinds of waste and thus, pollute landfill sites. And two: never hang on to spicy pillows! In either case, take dead and worn batteries – and spicy pillows! – to your local recycling facility. Taping battery connectors is also a good idea, as it helps minimise the risk of fires and short-outs.
To conclude here, salvaging working parts from dead and broken computers and laptops help reduce waste. They serve as spare parts, so that you have something to replace a broken or faulty part in your computer. And of course, keeping viable computers – and everything else – going benefits everyone, as well as the environment.
So as always, just keep calm and keep on fixing!