How to use PC productively?

ThePensioner on 25/12/2013 - 21:45

Hi all, I remember using my PC to download music back when i had dial up 10 years ago. I used to leave it running all night and in this way it was doing something productive. Now I have broadband and it's no longer an issue.

It seems like new hardware is mainly used for gaming. Can it be used for anything productive? what can I do with PC hardware to make my life better/more efficient. I'm looking for something that I don't need to actively be at the PC and just want it to work by itself.

Is there anything else i could have my PC do during the night?

I thought the folks on here would have the knowledge I'm looking for!

Edit: I don't mind spending time learning a programming language if it'll give me a chance to use the PC for something!

Computing

Comments

  • mparf on 25/12/2013 - 21:58

    Bitcoin mining? haha

    • scrimshaw on 26/12/2013 - 00:57
      +2

      You'd be doing this at a loss, given the high energy bills we have in Aust.

      You would be better off shutting down the computer when not in use.

      • [Deactivated] on 07/08/2016 - 12:30

        If you have solar you would be putting the solar to good use.
        Have a few PCs going to do your mining during the day and profit i guess.

        • bargainmuncher on 14/08/2016 - 13:20

          I am mining eth with dual 970s. Projected monthly profit ~$100 USD. So far have made $15

        • scrimshaw on 14/08/2016 - 19:48

          Is Eth like the shiznits now? I sold my AMD R9 graphics card to an etherium miner, he says he's got 12 GPU's mining and he doesn't even have a job.

          I'm insanely jealous.

  • StewBalls on 25/12/2013 - 22:25

    Folding/Seti@home.

    • ThePensioner on 27/12/2013 - 17:23

      What's 'seti@home'???

      • scrimshaw on 27/12/2013 - 17:39

        SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.

  • c64 on 25/12/2013 - 22:52
    +4

    people usually turn their computers off whenever possible to save on their electricity bill

    100W, say, overnight for 10 hours = 1kW/night @ $0.28 (or whatever your rate is) = $102/year

  • retiredfeline on 25/12/2013 - 22:58
    +2

    With so much computing power in the server farms of the world and so many types of consumer hardware to access the Internet, just use it as you need, save electricity, and don't worry about getting every bit of computing out of the PC.

  • Almost Banned on 25/12/2013 - 23:46

    I use BOINC and have signed up to several projects.
    Was doing SETI ages ago but now tend to sign up mostly to protein folding ones - searching for cures for cancer/AIDS/Alzheimers and the like.
    You can set it to only run when your computer is inactive or asleep so you are basically just donating your unused processing capacity (and a little bit of power).

  • Ughhh on 26/12/2013 - 02:39
    +3

    Op are you trolling? https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/104568

    • subywagon on 26/12/2013 - 07:15
      +3

      Perhaps he should try and help find a cure for alzheimer's?

  • thereyougo on 26/12/2013 - 08:35
    +1

    He's just misunderstood and looking for attention. At least ThePensenior has found a use for his pc, trolling…

  • aripper on 26/12/2013 - 10:45

    I'm always amazed to find there are still private people wanting/leaving their computer turned on 24 hours a day. Back in the (good?) old days, some people believed it was more economical to leave your computer running rather than switch it off and on - a rumour started by hard drive vendors no doubt… but let's see…
    the average PC has a 350w power supply X24hrs X356 = $(big waste)
    *** + the average desktop hard drive spins at 4200rpm X60X24X360 (no
    grease nipples or service points)which equals…. premature
    bang and loss of all data stored there at some stage!
    and I haven't addressed the logistics of PC enemy No. 1… heat and
    the affect on the motherboard and other components yet!
    I know a bloke who had been doing that for the last nine years - same PC and same hard drive… he was pretty lucky when his main drive went down a couple of months ago because he had a portable (usb) drive which he'd stored his important data on for years…. so if you run your hard drive 24 hours a day, I hope your important data is being backed up elsewhere.

    • scrimshaw on 26/12/2013 - 11:02
      +1

      so if you run your hard drive 24 hours a day, I hope your important data is being backed up elsewhere.

      Backups are always neccessary regardless of how much, or how little, you use your hard drive.

      Reason? Bathtub curve. Defects that arise from production in the factory can also contribute to early failures — to say that you should perform backups only on older drives is probably inaccurate and misguided.

      It's best to backup your data on a regular basis regardless of what drive you intend to be working on.

  • cdeep0 on 27/12/2013 - 17:48

    someone has to leave pc on - else not enough seeds to download educational data from like minded professionals!

  • Pr0XyD on 27/12/2013 - 17:53

    seed seed seed.. nobody can have enough of that

  • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2013 - 21:46

    Bittorent to download movies and have family movie night with home made popcorn. If you can't find the movie you want there, search for it on www.youtube.com adding the words "full movie". Then download it using "YTD Video Downloader" (it's free) to prevent buffering, and use VLC Media Player (also free) to watch it via a cable to your TV, or USB thumbdrive into your set top box, etc.

    Oh - and just because a power supply is rated at say 400W, that doesn't mean it uses 400W continously. With the monitor and other external devices (scanner, printers, speakers, external HDDs, etc.) turned off, a computer and modem would use very little power.

  • ThePensioner on 07/02/2014 - 16:25

    Thanks all for your replies!

    Bitcoin seems interesting but my hardware is too lacking I think to do it: CPU Q9500 + Graphics Card Nvidia 8800GT.

  • ThePensioner on 28/08/2015 - 14:54

    After all this time I still haven't found a productive use for my PC hardware.

    Broadband speeds has made downloading a breeze.

    Are there any other ideas? I thought I'd continue the thread instead of creating a new one and wasting space…

  • Max Power on 29/08/2015 - 17:35
    +2

    I left my PC running overnight once. It developed consciousness, built itself some legs and ran away with the fridge, the only other thing I left on. True story.

  • ThePensioner on 30/08/2015 - 11:27

    I've asked a mod to delete that thread so that I don't waste space.

    Some serious replies would be appreciated!

  • [Deactivated] on 30/08/2015 - 23:27

    Lots of sites to download useful stuff from. Depends on your interests though. I've recently been downloading how to play piano/guitar tutorials.

    http://www.moreofit.com/similar-to/www.ebookee.com/Top_10_Si…

    Some of those downloads are 700MB x several files to get the entire thing. I leave it downloading while I sleep.

    Also paid survey sites.

  • ThePensioner on 04/09/2015 - 12:18

    Thanks, but my download speeds are so fast with broadband that I don't need to leave my PC running overnight anymore.

    • [Deactivated] on 07/08/2016 - 12:33
      +1

      Your not downloading enough then.

      • ThePensioner on 12/08/2016 - 13:13

        I'm more than happy with my download speeds…

        • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2016 - 14:07

          so down load all the internet.

          i dare say bitcoin mining or other farming type programs that earn ou dollars should satisfy your needs.

  • mistergoodwin on 07/09/2015 - 13:04

    Set up some local network services, like Domoticz to act as the command center for home automation (note: requires wiring up everything you want to automate).
    Or setup some external network services, host your own website, setup your own cloud storage, if you have fast enough upload connection and big enough quota a plex server can become your very own netflix when you're away from home, look into sonarr and couchpotato for automating your private netflix ;)

    • mistergoodwin on 08/09/2015 - 10:17

      Oh, and on bitcoin mining. There's no point unless you want to spend big on some ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) cards designed for bitcoin mining. They're pricey but they perform magnitudes greater than a CPU and GPU and use almost a 3rd of the power.

  • ThePensioner on 09/09/2015 - 19:27

    Thanks for sharing that! Do you have any links we could look at?

    I looked into Bitcoin mining some time ago, but the cost of buying new hardware was too much.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/09/2015 - 20:37

    You will save at least $30 on power a year by cutting a few hours off each day.

    Other productive uses can include programming new applications for your own use.

    • ThePensioner on 11/09/2015 - 14:13

      Only $30 a year? I'd prefer to keep my PC running 24/7 just for the convenience of not needing to turn it on every time I want to use it.

    • ThePensioner on 15/09/2015 - 18:02

      Are you sure it's only $30 a year to run a PC 24/7?

      • Max Power on 15/09/2015 - 18:15

        at least $30

        I'm sure it's a lot more, but it depends on your hardware.

        • ThePensioner on 19/09/2015 - 22:53

          Ah, I see. I guess older hardware uses more power as well…

  • ThePensioner on 13/09/2015 - 11:11

    Does anyone have some new ideas for what I can do with my PC when I'm not present?

    • keyman on 26/10/2015 - 16:37

      Use it as a server:
      - Connect a printer up to it and you can print from anywhere in the house
      - Set up Plex to access and view your media from anywhere in the house
      - Set it up as a NAS giving you access to your files from anywhere in the house
      - Set up a VPN server so you can remote in from abroad, access your files from anywhere in the world and browse the internet securely in public spaces like free WiFi at cafes
      - Set up some IP cameras to record to your PC so you can have a home surveillance system

  • ThePensioner on 18/10/2015 - 16:21

    With the PS4/XBOX One offering high computing performance at a low price, is there a way I can make use of it in a productive way?

    Thank you!

  • ThePensioner on 25/10/2015 - 15:44

    The new CPUs offer so much performance: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/216775

  • ThePensioner on 06/08/2016 - 14:16

    I'm currently looking for a new project so any new ideas would be great. Also, I've noticed that the new PC hardware is much more efficient with power consumption……….

    • [Deactivated] on 13/08/2016 - 10:47

      If you ran a windows tablet (<$100) with a network connection to your internet, and the screen off, you'd be running perhaps under 6watts (i think) for the pc side.
      Or laptops are cheap these days and with screen off I think they'd run < 30 watts.

  • Baysew on 13/08/2016 - 09:10

    Complete your Census form.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/08/2016 - 10:32

    I'm not sure I get you but you could host a useful server (ftp or http) for any number of useful reasons.

    Example:
    Top shareware incl. linux cd's etc
    Scientific Research support
    Torrents
    Public Proxies
    Host a relay for TOR, gives added security and access for users.

    The list is huge and will use up ALL YOUR BANDWIDTH ALWAYS if you do it properly.

  • ThePensioner on 05/10/2016 - 12:20

    Thanks for the replies!

    Bitcoin mining seemed like a great idea, but it seems to not be worth it because of high electricity bills…

    Anything similar to Bitcoin mining would be amazing!

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