What We Do with All Our Cases & Dead Hardware

In this video, we're talking about what we do with all of our overflow PC cases, dead hardware, and other components that we eventually have to get rid of.
Host: Steve Burke
Video: Keegan Gallick, Josh Svoboda

[@gnsteve8846]

Hey guys, we didn't ask if you want them and that's for a reason. We will not be entertaining the already annoying amount of requests for a free case. We're not shipping them, first of all, as we haven't kept the shipping materials and cases need it. Secondly, they're going to use for education. Pretty disappointed in how many "plis gib case" comments we're getting. You'd think we would have considered that option, and there are many reasons we're not doing it.

[@cassiusgolgotha2347]

Pls gib 3990x wiht 2080ti, I pay halve 4 shiping

[@Strelitzia_2]

I would have thought that it was pretty obvious that you wouldn't be giving away or selling cases to viewers cause of how painful/expensive the shipping would be. Knowing your giving them to a school for students to make use of sounds like the best possible option

[@spork8655]

Even douchers watch tech videos, Steve.

[@bondrewdbestdad]

plis gib case Case study about intel vs AMD or something :D

[@benxgaming3484]

I was gonna ask if they are up for sale, but I guess that probably wouldn't be appreciated. Would it be possible to sell stuff on the gn store then donate the profits? Even dead stuff is fun to take apart or try to repair. In the future of course because I feel that donating funds to the school might be a little more helpful. Perhaps not though, just thinking not out loud.

[@duffbiker]

Sign the 1080ti and gn store it is a great idea for charity tbh

[@codyharrison9251]

Maybe bring it to the LTT auction?

[@aure_eti]

@@codyharrison9251 you mean LTX ?

[@1pcfred]

Yeah charity is tax deductible. So it is like money in your pocket.

[@Symbolic91]

Yeah great idea!! :D

[@miguelcossyleon7284]

I don't have much of a chance to go to LTX but I would love to buy a 1080ti signed by Steve if they do get listed on the GN store for a fair price.

[@blackmennewstyle]

This is something i think a lot of youtubers do not take seriously, the impact they could have on pushing people to recycle their old stuffs or even building awareness about environmental impact of savagely disposing old or dead hardware. A great power comes with great responsibilities...

[@pr0xZen]

Maybe put it on the sidwalk in a white box, and write "Apple iStuff" on the side. It'll be gone in 10 and it'll be kept forever.

[@yumplife7270]

I'm so glad you guys dont just toss it in the dumpster such a great team you have steve

[@FeintMotion]

1:52 I mean it barely has any attachment to itself so I can see why

[@thetrashman5252]

All I care about is that my sweet child H500P Mesh is safe in there. H500P Mesh is too precious for the dumpster, though high schoolers might work.

[@gnsteve8846]

H500P Mesh is safe!

[@thetrashman5252]

@@gnsteve8846 I can sleep safe and sound now. Thank you for your service.

[@_Gecko]

The idea of donating it to a high school is actually awesome, glad to see they’re not wasted and see some actual use

[@deagle50ae]

I work at an R2 certified electronics recycling company in MN, USA. Thank you for responsibly recycling your used hardware. It'll pay dividends for our future humans on this earth.

[@TheXDonato]

Hey Steve, as a student and a computer enthusiast I really appreciate what your doing with the cases. Helping out student who want to learn or just could use a pc for work, not having to buy a case is great for the thought budgets we have.

[@cat-.-]

Cannot appreciate enough what a high-quality, free case means to a high schooler! Would have to get a sort-by-lowest-price case from amazon otherwise

[@timmooney7528]

Regarding the oddball steel cases and high schools, check with a school's shop/ vocational programs, and they may have a need for sheet metal for teaching welding or metal forming.

[@bowtiethirteentwenty8627]

Great idea.

[@CaveyMoth]

Hey, where's the Cooler Master Q300L? Using it as a peanut butter cup jar? The CUTE PET graphics card looks freaking great in the background, btw.

[@sparks-tech]

Putting items on the GN store and selling for charity is a fantastic idea.

[@aaaa-od4wn]

What are those plastic looking holders for the shelved video cards. I've never seen a good way to store lots of video cards in an upright way on a shelf like that

[@Brandon3055]

10:44 Ouch that power supply... As someone with some component level repair skills it really hurts to see things like that thrown out. Though i do understand its probably just not worth your time or money to try to get something like that fixed.

[@solitarygamer7094]

Good on you Steve for donating some of this stuff. Speaking from experience as a technology instructor, it's a nightmare getting hardware that is worth anything in a public school setting... and this is even before you factor in an 8 YEAR equipment cycle (which we've been fighting). To say that we have been reduced to scavenging is an understatement. This stuff will be put to good use and find a good home.

[@katelynbaca7466]

Hey Steve Awesome Video Man!! Really Appreciate you donating the cases to those young kids who are hungry to do a mid-to high end build. even if its taking there home system and swapping cases. When i was a kid at the age of 16 i swapped a case on a OEM frankenstein build. it was pretty awesome to show all your friends and family. even tho its pretty simple to do so. I think we need more young minds getting into the tech industry as a whole regardless of what field you work. Building a home pc is a task that is really rewarding in the end.

[@MacGuy3135]

Glad to see these cases not ending up on a dump or something. My father used to work for the bbc and the amount of professional audio and video equipment that ended up in their skips was nuts.

[@TheHrb1234]

Glad you are donating them and they have a chance to be used and not just landfill.

[@fabiokelm]

For all possible destinations to unused hardware, a school that will use it is one of the best possible outcomes. Congrats for the iniative Steve.

[@Madchris8828]

Your behinds the scenes stuff is pretty fascinating. I think it's pretty refreshing and pretty neat how you reuse them. Teaching and charity is good use.

[@masterf1999]

I used to run a program at the local high school called Makerspace. The students messed with building systems, drones, Raspberry Pi stuff, etc. All awesome I'd have killed to have a source like you for old parts and stuff. Thanks for doing what you do with that old stuff! Keep up the great work!!

[@techluse]

always good to see hardware donated to tech classes. my own class benefitted from company pc hardware donations when I was in trade school. definitely the best way to handle this stuff.

[@2011jaydog]

Nice of you guys to give back esp to school kids!! I got a few old cases and mobos..processors..ram..older ddr2 stuff but in summer think next yard sale imma make a pile and put free on it..I've integrated to ryzen and have a couple systems that are new and current so not much a need for the older stuff ..plus they might hafta have a few parts to get things built like might need ram for one of the mobos..or heatsink n fan for processor ..I've stripped a lotta old junkers and time to get rid of old CD drives n power supplies n old parts :) love the vids guys!!

[@KathrinHausermann]

Thank you for recycling Steve. It is a very important Important indeed. Thank you for being a role model and show how parts which you no longer need can get a second life and being used by others. Thank you for all the worthy projects you support. Esp the cat shelter project I loved. You got rid of parts and they have now a PC that works and will serve them very well for a long time to come.

[@ApplevalleyRC]

Great to see these kind of behind the scenes videos. Love yall's content, and hope to see more content like this in the future!

[@butre.]

the fans in power supplies are pretty much always fine, so I always strip them out before I bring them to the recyclers. they're usually just 2 pin fans with a non-standard connector if they're not soldered in but it's trivial to crimp a new connector on. handily the connector for floppy power fits a fan header, so just go ahead and cut that connector off while you're nabbing the fan

[@1LikeCake]

It's nice to see that you put back in the younger generation. Really like this idea, might do it for my old systems.

[@joeylevy6762]

Hey Steve I have a 980ti kingpin edition that just died on me randomly. Was wondering if you’d be interested in it for scientific purposes? Maybe make a video on it and see why it died? Anyways I’d be willing to ship to you if you’re interested.

[@sirbhimasb]

send it to ahoc and he will be happy 👍

[@juniperburton7693]

Buildzoid would love it...

[@anew742]

Great that you're able to recycle and pass on most of this stuff! If I were there, I'd end up hoarding everything haha

[@box2joe]

i wish i was living in the same area as you are. i know a school who really needs all those computer junks that you have. no matter how bad it looks or even how old it is, as long as it's working fine or can be fix it will still worth like gold for them.

[@iconoclast485]

I gotta say I really respect you not wanting to sell things because of an ethical conflict man. I see a lot of shady stuff go on on youtube in general and it's good to know that you have integrity. Not that you need me to pat you on the back for doing this but i just felt like shooting a comment on this video different than im sure the hundreds you will probably get asking to give them things.

[@ЄгорІльїн-в1к]

You know, I have a laptop which won't normally work from battery power + has a screen wrack, and for a long time my head was occupied with an idea to turn it into a media console for my old tv with no smart or such mosern stuff. Just stumbled on your channel, not the type of content you usually make, but if I had to choose, I'd 100% would love watching such video-idea in yours rendition 😍

[@radian2323]

Awesome how you always think about how to help others. Didn't know this channel existed. Subscribed.

[@afallingtree9114]

as someone who works at a computer recycling organisation, you can still recycle the fans as they have small amounts of metals in them so try to recycle them too.

[@juanpiella2900]

Thanks you gave me a great idea about what to do with my old cases I have at home. Starting by a HAF-X.

[@97whitesi]

I like that you did a cost/benefit analysis of calculating the yearly rent these cases are costing you, never heard of anyone on youtube getting that granular!

[@mikabae]

Didn't know you had a second channel Steve. Subbed. More content to love

[@miffmat]

When you see the case you have currently and Steve doesnt even want to review it makes me a sad panda

[@depth386]

In high school I benefitted immensely from businesses donating old crap. This was the early 2000’s and my school was a focal point for donations and we the students did some free labor refurbishing all of them through the course. The school wouldn’t keep Pentium 1’s anymore because they were upgrading to WinXP and all the decent machines were now P3’s and P4’s. So I was allowed to scrounge myself a bunch of Pentium 1 era parts and I ended up building a LAN at home and found uses for them. I learned so much thanks to that I was really lucky to go to the right school at the right time and have the right teacher who wasn’t too concerned with the ethics of obsolete sillicon. Stuff got old fast back in those days. P1 90mhz or 133mhz. P3 1.3ghz! P4’s often 1.6 or 1.8 at school. By the time I could afford one, RD RAM had screwed off and my cpu clock was 2.6ghz. Those were the good days of rising frequencies :-)

[@S_t_r_e_s_s]

Planning on doing a follow up video later? Just to see what happened to the cases and such.

[@LeftHandedRocker]

Nice! Way to go GN team. Throwing in some mod mats is a nice touch.

[@Snotnarok]

I wasn't even aware you had a second channel, take this as you will- I am saying this genuinely and I mean it in a positive way but even your second channel which most YT people use for rando-stuff... Your rando-second channel with some off the cuff nonsense is STILL informative, interesting and educational in a variety of ways. I think this stuff gets overlooked by creators on YT because 'it's not professional' or 'it doesn't have any writing / the same amount of effort behind main vids' but it's still a great insight behind the scenes in understanding what goes on. It's also educational in regards to how you handle ewaste and how others could/should consider doing so as well. It's frustrating because I know people who upgrade and I later found out they THREW OUT THE PC/LAPTOP instead of donating it or e-cycling it. Either way, thank you for the informative video, was interesting to have on while I work

[@tuxediomafia]

You make most of us enthusiasts drool!! One question Steve, is teh ROG Strix Helios case I believe it is, isnt available for sale here in Canada. I have an old NZXT Phantom 410 case and would like something nicer. I have tried Craig's etc, and nothing. Any suggestions? And it was great to hear you donating the cases for others to learn with!!

[@dustinmurdock276]

Your passion for charity and donations is inspiring. It's a larg part of why I support your Channel. And as a fellow Carolinian... Great job Steve. BTW only you would calculate the sqft of a case to figure up the cost of rent.

[@twithnell]

Students really do need the hardware to play with and learn. I think that is awesome. I had never touched a computer beyond an old apple 2 I bought myself at a yard sale, until I took Vo-Tech classes in High School. That was in 2000-2002, tech is more prevalent now, but not if you don't have the money.

[@oboe8444]

When he said a bunch of weights for mice, did anyone else think of mice who do weightlifting?

[@PainterVierax]

Hi Steve, very instructive video. For any broken electronic device, you may rather give them to some hobbyists, associations or electronic classes because fixing them is often a dollar of components (or a reprogramming if there is a software brick) but it rarely worth the time spent for refurbishing companies. Also even if a circuit is not reparable, a lot of perfectly functional discrete components (especially the high voltage/amperage tolerant ones on a PSU) are quite interesting for other projects but again they don't worth the desoldering process for a business POV (except if you're Louis Rossmann and it's an Apple product).

[@PainterVierax]

@jvalex18 that's why I talked about associations and classes. Also, they can put that on a bundle with a title telling they're all broken, it's enough to avoid non serious people.

[@GuyPipili]

Donating to education centers are great places to give these items. I'm in agreement. Lab work is the main stay of learning technology.

[@joshalabat1266]

What local schools are you talking about when you mentioned computer engineering classes? I'm already past high school years, but that type of information is pretty interesting to know. Possibly consider those schools when I have my own kids. I am within the Raleigh NC area where GN is based.

[@bb2ridder757]

man, it is so nice to see you guys drop stuff off at a school for computer classes.

[@molly461]

Where is yall's office at so I can go dumpster diving? LMAO

[@FrickedUp]

how does your page only have 18.9k, Steve does enough for us guys, frickin subscribe.

[@YTPartyTonight]

I’ve got two old Fractal Design cases, an Arc Midi R2 and an even older Define XL R2, that I’m putting in the recycling bin-literally today for pick up.

[@Killer1986Chris]

For some of the older hardware excess hardware have you thought about making some PC builds to donate to children's hospitals for patients to use while stuck there for sometimes weeks at a time?

[@pr0xZen]

Cary is no tiny slouch of a town, and with Durham, Raleigh and all the other big and small places right next door, it's easily a million people fairly nearby. Is flipping the overshoot (surely there are practical limits to how much the high school can take before they're in the same situation), for pickup?

[@PBnando]

I didn't realise this was a 2nd channel. I just saw steve / GN / Intriguing Title and clicked on it. Pretty rad of you to donate parts to local schools.

[@chhsel]

Another venue you might consider is giving parts to high school that do High School E-Sports League, Their computers are usually crappy and they could make good use of those video cards. Maybe they could mention you as a sponsor to help your channel. Thanks for not just dumping all this stuff in dumpsters, I will show this video to my Hardware class students.

[@frankglasgow]

Sign them and sell them on your website. Charity donation is awesome. I donate to St Baldricks a lot. My own family has been affected by cancer, as well as friends. Donate to schools is a fantastic idea as well. Let the kids learn.

[@peterderbeste6817]

kinda sad that you never reviewed the all glas silverstone case, it looked interesting to me

[@datamatr1x]

I can't think of a better way to get rid of them than sell for charity or cases for education. Happy to hear that's the way they go.

[@cheesefries7436]

I have a bunch of older desktop hardware stuff I was thinking of putting on CL/marketplace but didn't want the hassile. I think before I do I'll see if the local schools have a computer type class that can use it. Thanks for the idea.

[@cactuarking4138]

The cougar turret is actually a badass cheap mesh case if you install 3x fans up front. Easiest build I've ever done.

[@SWIRFTV]

donating components to high school classes and students is amazing! GN is the best

[@raulsaavedra709]

Someone two years ago: I come from the future, heard GN say he has too many 1080 Ti's and he doesn't need them. Everyone: hahahahahahahhhahhaahahahah ...

[@Otawakun]

that's great to see that you will donate them to computer engineering classes to familiarize them to the current tech. I am a computer engineer myself and a lot of my previous classmates aren't even familiar with them, it's sad that majority of my classmates went for the software side.

[@pondwaterjr]

me and a few buddies are building a frankin PC out of our old stuff that we have no use for, but can get friends into the pc realm no cost to them. With the rule that they have to build their own or pass it on if its not for them, we could use some cases or extras if you feel the cause current loan-a-pc is a i5-3rd? gen, 8gb ddr3, Radeon 5770, dell optiplex tower, two power supplies since the one is not big enough for the gpu and a 1200x900 monitor, with the old m&kb from what we had upgraded from if you do feel the cause not looking for new stuff, we kind of want it on the lower end to encourge them to make their own pc

[@BrokeBeardedGuy]

I think listing some older hardware in the GN store is a great idea. My builds are always a generation or two behind but I don't make enough money to stay on top of the curve. Just got a 1300 supernovag2 for $60.

[@southernexposure526]

You could start a philanthropic organization to have school age kids participate in build parties. I think it's important to pay it forward with the skills you have. I watched to the end and realized you basically already are. I'll volunteer to "test" some video cards tho. p.s. my current card is an rx570 so anything better than that is a good "test" subject. 😜

[@cameronmorgan6334]

Right now I would kill for a case for my first system witch is a Frankenstein of dell optiplex parts but I agree with your opinion it's a great idea to donate the unnecessary parts to a good cause instead of dealing with postage and customer haggling

[@redsquirrelftw]

For stuff that's too hard to get rid of locally, one idea might be to ebay it but as a large lot, like you fill a large bin of random items, take a picture and maybe list some key items and put it on Ebay. Or maybe through a liquidator. Though I guess that's still lot of hassle too.

[@Kitsune-Chaos]

I'm actually using that front-most white Corsair case. Love it.

[@marca.leonhardt5417]

If you wanna get rid of some cases I do live in Wilson NC, willing to drive to pick them up. I love building pcs and giving them out to folks that need them.

[@hectoreduardofuentealbapel7830]

Selling the GPUs on GN Store (or eBay even, on auction) for charity is a freaking great idea!. It's a win/win: You get rid of stuff, people get the part that they need for lower cost and organizations get money to do good.

[@areceemaz]

Had a shop, sold it 10 yrs ago. My usable items went to build systems for DISABLED SHUT-INS, the internet is a window to the outside world for those people. Sadly I learned I could not let the end user know where they came from as you suddenly became their tech support and new best friend, so had our local police dept find deserving homes for these old PCs.

[@schtive81]

I would buy one of those lesser cases that NZXT doesn't seem to care about. I have recently purchased a motherboard/CPU/RAM/harddrive combination that I am looking to pair with a case & PSU. But the shipping to Canada would not be worth it over retail. Ever try using an Amazon storefront to sell some of this stuff?It is probably a better option than Ebay or Craigslist.

[@Heimbasteln]

I'd say you got your recycling figured out pretty well, it just kinda hurts to see those AIOs go in the trash, I guess somebody could repair them/ use some parts but I can understand the effort involved in giving them away is not really worth it. I'd take them if I were in the US, but im not

[@ragtop70]

Have you considered partnering with a local university and donating some of the video cards/motherboard and processor combos for graduate research? 1080Ti could be used for CUDA work, etc.

[@charlesuk5358]

I like how you have tried ( and succeeded in the most part) to find ethical and environmental ways of dealing with your waste, on a side note, any dead items of note, ie 1060/2080, dead cpu's and the odd case panel, you could sign and put up in your store and donate the profit from those items to the cat sanctuary, that would be cool. But thanks for the behind the scenes looks

[@QuentinStephens]

Great work with the school. Keep it up.

[@Wazigeside]

Have you guys considered doing something similar to the cat shelter pc? Donating a pc made of surplus parts to such charities or is it more usefull for charities to get the money from hardware sales?

[@renegade_patriot]

I totally agree with not just giving cases out over the internet. What's to stop people from abusing the system? Someone could spam accounts, request free cases and then sell them anyways. Opens it up to abuse big time.

[@jldkrank]

Steve, is it possible to make my own DIY PC mesh filter with window screen material and some strip magnets and a bit of super glue?

[@TheWarner40t]

some nice cases good videos u guys rock keep it up

[@ralphandmike]

have you asked the manufacturers about a recycling program? i know some are prototypes but recycling would be a good idea. problem is i dont know if there is such a program in place.

[@DaemonForce]

I'm a guy that upon upgrade, guts the existing chassis/container. My build lag periods between 2004-2008 and 2009-2019 has caused a MASSIVE pinch in retiring and recommissioning older hardware with 100% functional case features because the only case I've ever had with front I/O is a Norco 2u rack with a single USB 2.0 port. It is for this reason that I am once again in the case market for something minimalist. I don't care what it looks like but require that it fits an ATX motherboard and has NO USB 3.0 ports. Can you recommend let alone FIND such a case? As of this time it appears no such stock exists anywhere on newegg and I have no idea how to search for these (lacking) options elsewhere. I would be looking into the Apevia X-Plorer if and when it ever comes back, which I'm sure it won't any time this year or the next. Help!

[@antikaboose3464]

Always surprised by how good of a guy Steve is

[@ebsmith1102]

Any idea when you will have your stuff up for sale or just keep checking the store?

[@gnsteve8846]

Not sure. We'll likely announce via Twitter or news videos!

[@Celician83]

If you have a Aorus 1080 TI waterforce w/the block instead of the AIO I'd be interested in buying it when it goes on the store. Would complete my all Aorus/Corsair build in my Carbide 600C

[@kratos21491]

Local charities and schools can be a few places where you can move the old cases or the ones you wanted to get rid off.

[@zbynektrajer2735]

Is there a Google Stadia at the bottom of the recycle bin? :)

[@joeprestera2239]

Have you posted the video cards for sale yet on the store? I can't find them.

[@Targetlockon]

I'm glad the stuff doesn't go to waste :)

[@Gixxer983]

You could do a stream and giveout or (symbolic price) some cases and the shipping is covered by the viewer.

[@davehill9951]

Hey Steve, im 63 now and building a computer for my grandson. I'll buy that rog 1080ti for a charitable cost. Ya its 2 years old now but hey would be bragging rights for a 12 year old! looking at buying a 1660ti, price is pretty good right now. TC and have a great weekend.

[@im.a.nickel]

What are some of the recycling companies you bring your stuff to? I usually bring my electronics to BestBuy, however if you know of better places in the Triangle I would rather bring my stuff there.

[@taylorbertrim7625]

I would like a case with better airflow, I have the Matrexx 70 setup with 3 x 140mm fans in the front, which is hard to find cases that have this feature. I am thinking of making a new front panel for it but I am having a hard time fining perforated metal.

[@warspanky8879]

❤️ working with schools

[@Reksrat]

I've got some stray pc parts (mostly coolers i don't use due to lacking hardware) I'm curious how much i could just add to regular recycling. I would assume batteries are out of the question but would PCBs be out too?

[@Tech215Studios]

Steve do you ever stop? You're a machine!!!!!

[@ProfDrOetker]

Hey Steve, I'm coming from the future and wanted to say pls gib Kidding, I wanted to ask about which video you were referencing to when you said "you learned that throwing cases made people angry". Also, what you can do with extra items is to donate them to AI research centers that don't get proper funding. I'm part of a research group at a university, we get little to no funding from the university and we are banging on tech companies' doors to get some donations so we can buy GPUs. We really would like that 1080 Ti for example. I'm in Europe so I'm not writing this for tokes, just to be clear.