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Hi,

I'll chime in here. The world community is still using 32 bit machines and will continue for a long time. Not everyone can afford to continually upgrade or replacement of their equipment. One reason for the 32 bit machine to continue use in the world community is that those machines are proven reliable pieces of equipment when using a stable OS.

At one time I would repair and distribute 32 bit machines to persons who could not afford any form of computing device. It did not take much effort to clean these machines and make repairs where necessary. This hardware could be used and was welcomed by people who could not afford the purchase of the latest hardware so I continued to do this until it started to cost me more time than I could afford to give.

It is sad that a lot of users must use the latest and greatest hardware to just surf the web or use for simple tasks daily. Heck my iPhone has more power than my whole LAB back at the University in my earlier years.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!
:hattip:

I still use older computers, because Linux & BSD make it possible. :)

But I won't get any more, because I have found that the Raspberry Pi3B, (which costs less than £35 brand new), is as efficient as a lot of the older computers are for daily tasks, are exceedingly small, consume much less power, & have 64bit ARM processors.

I'm beginning to think the days are numbered for these old machines, especially the 32bit ones. ;)

If people out there are still relying upon PCs that are over 15 years old then there is a lot more that the computer industry could do. Anything over 10 years old tends to be "antique" in computer circles and I'm sad to hear that 32 bit Intel is still "a thing".

I'm still using a body that is over 60 years old and still works reasonably well and probably better than many new models.
Just because something is old, there is no reason to replace it. If you start to use the efficiency excuse, think again because you need to include the energy used in building the new in your equation.

Today I was just listening to gospel radios online, trying out a few. For this, even a P2 is enough. Depends on the user, the needs and the apps used.

But computers are not people and a lot of computer users replace them every 5 to 10 years because of OS dependencies and the like. I don't write OSs but since the people who do tend to add more and more threads to everything it's not a good idea to use old kit when, for example, trying to claim jobseakers allowance. Of course, there's noting better about the new software but if one needs a computer to then one generally needs a newer computer than a 15 year old one. This thread being mainly about using older hardware for enjoyment.

There are retro enthusiasts who keep old OSes updated, Legacy OS is one example.
Not really just for enjoyment. I still use my P4 for pretty much everything.

Very good point about energy needed to make the new one. This I overlooked in such instances.

There are things you cannot do on older OSs and systems. Choosing to use them is fine -- I like classic cars myself, for example -- but that doesn't mean it's practical for people to use who need computers. I know myself that, for example, there are things one cannot do without a modern Windows which are part of some job applications here in the UK.

At work there is pressure to upgrade for uniformity, security and other reasons. There are also tax deductions for business expenses.

Remember that is the environmental cost of the machine and not what it costs the person buying it. A new Raspberry Pi may well cost the same as running an older once high performance machine for a year.
Also, in theory at least, the environmental cost of everything sold is included in the price as tax -- or so our politicians tell us.

And so the older machine can go to those who need them through charity or being cheap, hence my earlier post that nobody ought to need to be using 32 bit machines any more.
I really do see this like classic cars -- I love things like Spitfires and old Jags but I'd not expect anyone to have to drive a classic car as it would just cause them problems.

Like what??

That would depend upon the age of the hardware and OS but things ranging from not being able to browse the internet safely (in the case of Windows XP and before) and not being able to watch YouTube (if that's your thing) to things like not being able to watch Netflix, play vaguely modern games and the very real possibility that a piece of software you must use isn't available. Hardware brings its own issues too with some machines it could be difficult to find RAM or expansion cards of the right type, for example. Many modern televisions don't have a VGA input so if somebody wants a cheap computer and can't afford, doesn't have room for or doesn't want a monitor they could have issues.
None of the above is guaranteed and none are definitely "deal breakers" but, nevertheless, if somebody is, for example, being given a PC they are things which could cause them issues or frustration.
Sadly we're seeing this with mobile phones also with older devices having support dropped so no security patches and bug fixes and slowly diminishing app access.

You can browse the internet perfectly safely on XP and before if you want to ; and I don't remember seeing or having any restriction on YouTube (not that I use it). There aren't very many TVs that do not have VGA input available and even if they don't there are cheap converters available.
RaM and expansion cards are EASIER to find for older machines than for new ones.