I think an absolutely great use for an old server at a youth center would be whatever the kids decide to use it for. Seriously, put it to a vote. There are lots of fun options, like a Minecraft server, one of the various Discord alternatives, a private wiki, or whatever else you find on the Awesome Selfhosted List . Just let it be their choice.

And, more importantly, set it up with them. Let anyone who wants to be involved in the process join in. If you’re kind of a newbie to Linux yourself, that’s even better; let them see you fuck up. Let them help you search for answers when you run into problems. Make it into a collaborative project.

Now, as for the actual hardware you have there… Man, that thing is ancient. If it’s what you’ve got it’s what you’ve got. As I’ve already indicated I think the process is worth more than the result here. That said, if you look around you can almost certainly find a refurbished old corporate PC for a hundred bucks or so that will be more powerful. Liquidation auctions are especially good for that kind of thing.

If you want to use it for fun, someone suggested a Luanti server, and you can also find a lot of really easy to set up game servers using a tool like LinuxGSM. Most games they support require very minimal configuration if any.

If you want to use it for something educational, depending on the age range of the kids, you might be able to use it to teach computing skills. For example, you could set it up as a pubnix/tilde where kids can get shell access, basically a remote connection to the command line, and you or someone can set up some services for them. Pubnixes tend to provide things like chat over IRC, something like a forum maybe over something a lot like Usenet, a webserver where users can host their own webpage they had to design themselves, less commonly but good for the kids would be voice chat with something like Mumble, they often have an array of programming tools, collaborative tools like calendars or something akin to Google Docs… It could be a good place for technically inclined kids to learn about computers, servers, Linux, programming, basic web development, etc. All the services could be kept internal to keep strangers away from the kids, maybe remote access strictly through accounts only given in person to members. If you’re interested in something like that, I might be able to help. Feel free to DM me or check out the Tildeverse to get an idea of what sort of things tildes and pubnixes offer their users.

the issue is that its very old. when running it, you will use a ton more electricity and be a lot slower than even a 5-8 year old unused retail box/workstation.

yes, you could throw ubuntu on there and it will work fine. then you could toss docker on there and play with some container apps for the kids maybe… like a mintecrafter server.

but, like i said, youd be better off digging a more recent workstation out of some garbage can and doing the same thing.

e. ha, just checked that is a desktop/workstaton box…i thought you were talkin a real HP server… they have much larger power requirements. that little box you have there would be fine for a little mini server for light apps.

Well, the Compaq dc7900 is like 19+/- years old. That’s vintage. It would probably handle basic software as a server. If I remember correctly, the Compaq mobo had a RAM max of 8 gb.

Assuming the Lenova ThinkCenters are of the same era, again, not much you could do with them.

However, since it’s a Youth Center, you could set them up with a basic Linux distro and introduce Linux to the youngsters. That might be a worthwhile project.

Install a newer Linux distro on it and run a Luanti server for the kids to play on.

I think so as well. The computer isn’t really good to “use” it. That’s more the category for experiments. Or teach people how to install Linux. Or a computer museum corner and you put vintage games on it. Or just recycle it.

And a box with RAM sticks collecting dust isn’t useful either. Put whatever is compatible into other computers, and then try to sell and recycle them. Seems 4GB DDR3L RAM modules still sell for 1 to 4€ on eBay?! So maybe you can make a few bucks to invest in other projects for the kids.

You could sell the RAM sticks on eBay. There are a few similar listings I’ve seen in the past and generally people looking to collect for old hardware or those who will strip them for gold will be interested in buying in a large bulk quantity like what you have there.

I have seen these listings in the past but checking right now to give you a price idea is difficult. Would need more time to check into today’s market to determine approximately how much you’d realistically get if sold on there. The current price of gold and the current price of RAM somewhat dictate the price, so keep that in mind.