I'm kind of torn by this. On the one hand, I like keeping old tech around. On the other, isn't this wasting energy on less efficient CPUs?
Isn't it worse for the environment to run old, inefficient CPUs?
Most modern laptop processors, including the ones on the Framework, have a TDP of 5-45 watts. Framework chargers are rated for 60 watts.
Your response also assumes a more efficient alternative is available. I work as a professor at a community college. I fix old laptops and give them to students who have no means to afford a computer. For many, that upcycled gift has gotten them through their bachelors degree.
It’s a very positive thing.
Sadly, no this is done out of my salary. I've lobbied my college repeatedly, but there are a lot of restrictions (read: next-to-impossible) in using state and federal funds for private equipment. Private funds that you can do whatever you want with are hard to come by at community colleges. It is also illegal for the school to sell me old (yet perfectly functional) computers to refurb for student use. They must be inventoried by the state, after which they are mothballed into storage, or destroyed/landfilled.
You can underclock a lot of modern desktop CPUs to be more energy efficient too (eg Eco Mode). But almost nobody bothers to actually do that.