Yes I am my old pc sitting next to this one for use if I need it for older games. =)

I would check out local thrift stores for older pcs or laptops. Dont spend a lot and get something older to run what you need.

You know i've wondered, why they don't engineer the cases and heatsinks to transfer heat in a way you could utilize it for something else say.... keeping your coffee hot, or cooking an egg... Although keeping your water hot, or connecting to a bowl you could put your feet into with water during the winter...

Probably enters the same realms of ideas as using your car engine to cook your food while you drive...

My son sometimes uses my ancient win95 machine to play old games that the newer OS's hate. It is amazing that the thing still runs. When it is not in use its 18 inch tower is used to support his Windows 7 machine that I just updated to a dual core.

Oh, forgot to mention that he can even surf the web with the thing, though poorly since the newer browsers wont work with it.

im using a laptop based on AMD's 1st gen APU (A8-3500M) and i couldn't be happier. it does the job of playing old and new games (albeit at lower settings) and is very power efficient. you could go for a laptop with high-end gfx hardware, but that will really add to the cost of the laptop, heat output and power consumption.

for your needs of running old games, i would definitely recommend an AMD Apu.

When you look at what they are doing with phones and tablets, it shows the huge potential of what old computers could do if the market bothered catering too them!

It was always kept clean. I used it for 2 years while working on 2 AA game titles, they were training games. I did texture placement and level design as well as QA Testing for them. Had loads of fun working on them, then everyone decided you had to have a degree to even think. So my career in level design lasted 22 month, a very fond 22 months.

These days intelligence and or being able to to the job are irrelevant, instead, everything is about 'liability', first and foremost is legal liability as in - you employed this person, something went wrong and look they are not fully qualified, then you get crucified by lawyers. Then secondly there is the liability for the people doing the employing to answer to those above in the chain of command - you employed this person who then screwed up and look, their not fully qualified. So it is never about employing the best person for the job, it is about covering your ass.

You could be the smartest person on earth and it is meaningless under the shadow of almighty liability, the most powerful force in the universe!

Remember my golden rule of liability in employment, "you can screw up too any degree imaginable and it is ok, so long as you are fully qualified to do so".