So, /g/ee.
I have a small army of old computers that I've accumulated over the years. Most of them are at least semi functional or could be repaired; the rest are good for parts. One chief problem is that half of them don't have network cards. I've ordered a few but I'm poor as dirt and won't be able to spend the cash to get them all up and running.
Is there a way to tie the netless computers to connected ones with Ethernet cables? Maybe outfit one as a secondary router that then connects to my main? I only know the barest thing about networking so I guess I'll get to learn.
>>53510349
I have the same problem
i have 5 dual core era computers still running but i dont know what to do with them
get a networking switch and learn to write code that runs in containers via cluster computing.. a la Docker
reeee
just build a beowulf cluster
>>53511117
Is this a meme or an actually useful thing to do?
not OP but what's the cheapest USB wifi adapter for a similar problem? i don't need to run cable, just get all my old pc's online.
>>53510349
>Is there a way to tie the netless computers to connected ones with Ethernet cables?
Yes; buy network cards for them.
>>53510349
Just buy some old 3com or Intel cards from ebay.
Sometimes you can even find boxes full of new in box cards for very cheap.
Are they running, XP? You can get $2 usb wifi dongles, one of mine has the rtl8188 chipset that definetly has XP drivers. The other one is Ralink and might too. Can't really be sure what chipsets are in them unfortunately.
Or just watch for junked computers. That era of computers had pretty compatible and ubiquitous hardware support. Most likely plug and play.
>>53513061
Its an ancient term. Like microtower.
>>53510349
DESU you're wasting so much juice just having them on, you'd be better off donating them to your local recycling center and get something remotely modern refurbished for $150-$200.
>>53513477
OP already said he's broke.
What's more, those old PCs probably only have ~200-300W power supplies, and the laptops maybe pull ~50W. It's not like they have humongous video cards to power.
