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What parts of an old computer can be salvaged and used in a new computer?

I have an old computer (almost ten years old) that has been sitting in the garage, and I want to take all the parts that I can and use them in my new computer. But what parts are worth taking. I am guessing the RAM is of minimal value, but the hard drive may be usable. Thanks for all your help

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You should have the RAM, motherboard, Optical Drives, Hard Drives, and even CPU (I usually pair that up with the mobo). You can also try the power supply and maybe even the case if you want. Don't forget any PCI cards you have. I usually transfer EVERYTHING that I didn't upgrade unless I just don't have the space. Unless it's incompatible. For example, you can have 184-pin ram and your new mobo may only have 240-pin. If that is the case, your CPU probably won't work either. So there are different compatibilities with different configurations as well. But for the most part, every modern computer has a PCI slot, a power supply plug, and most likely an IDE slot. Almost all parts are also sellable. List them on Ebay. They may not go for much depending on how old they are, but pretty much all parts are sellable.
<>Realistically, if you are asking about salvaging parts from the old computer to PUT INTO the new one, the HD is about the only thing from a 10 y/o computer that MIGHT be usable. RAM, motherboards, even CD-ROM drives will be obsolete (unless you just want an extra CD reader; new PCs all have DVD-RWs). Even the power supply is probably not up to the output of the new one. The only other thing you might want to consider is the 3 1/2" floppy drive (if you have a lot of stuff on floppies) because new PCs rarely, if ever, have them.
ten year old technology is not going to do your new PC any favours! you are quite right that the ram is quite cheap but even if it cost the earth, I'm fairly sure that it would be incompatible after 10 years, its probably a 72 pin sim - 1 step up from 32 pin sims even your hard drive may cause you a problem, if you put it on the same ide cable as your c drive, it will slow down access time to your swap file, effectively slowing down your PC
The case and the power supply, and essentially nothing else. The memory will be too small, the processor too slow, and the disk drive far too small. Since the case will not have USB or Firewire jacks, you will probably want to scrap it too. Bottom line: junk it, and get a new machine.
Ram, hard disk, processor...... (they must be not worth taking)
probably NOTHING can be re-used if your computer is that old. why? Ram - Ram has upgrade a lot since 10 years its gone from SDRAM, DDR, DDR2, and RAMBUS (RDRAM) these cannot be mixed! (Most new computers have DDR2) Hard Drive - Most of the hard drives today are now on SATA2 its much quicker than SATA (a few years older) and much quicker than IDE. Connecting the 2 would not be recommended... at all. Fans - Only if you are building a computer. Video card/Sound card - if you bought a video/sound card you can bring it over to your new computer, if its better ( check computer specs to be sure ) Only thing i could Imagen you could save is the CD drive. its always good to have at least 2 Cd-Drives.
I couldn't disagree more with the first post above about reusing parts. That only applies in a few situations where the computer is less than 5 years old. 10 is on the excessive side. The power supply is probably 200 watts or less. Compare that to a 500W PSU. Also, it probably doesn't have the right power connectors that most boards need today. And PCI? What is Matt thinking? What 10-year-old PCI card could you possibly want to reuse? Certainly not graphics or the dial-up modem! Most of everything is now integrated on many motherboard models. You will not want to keep any parts aside from "maybe" the floppy drive which isn't used much anymore and has in a lot of ways been replaced with USB flash drives. Parts that used to be salvage-able like the keyboard, mouse, and CD-ROM are not even worth it these days. They are dirt cheap everywhere, come in USB and "optical" flavors, and most of all won't be the ugly beige color we had in the 90s! Your old CPU, RAM, and motherboard has been passed up by at least 5 generations. You would be lucky to get more than $5 for any of them (and they're the main components). It would be best to donate it in working condition along with the monitor to a charity organization writing it off for $50.