The question of "worth fixing" I hear brought up from time to time, not just here, but in life as a whole. The answer for me never comes down to a pure dollar figure, but perceived value.
Outside example:
I'm about to start working on restoring a 1998 model car, with nearly 400k miles on it. The car was only worth $14k when it was brand new, so you can imagine the low monetary value today. From a pure dollar figure perspective, the "restored" value of that car will (likely) be significantly less than what it will cost me to restore it. So, why do I want to then? My mom taught me to drive a standard transmission in it. I spent my teenage years daydreaming about how I wanted to own and "trick it out" to my liking. As a freshman in high school, my mom drove my wife and I to our first date in that car, and we shared our first kiss that night on the way home. The car has far more value to me than the dollar figure would indicate.
I say all that just to make the point that, to be honest, for the cost of a logic board, and hard drive (I would recommend a SSD in an IDE enclosure if you're going to the trouble of tearing it down, but that's beside the point), you could likely purchase a decent used Windows laptop that could likely perform the tasks you've mentioned "better" than this machine. That doesn't necessarily mean its the right choice.
For me, fixing an older machine like that is about the lessons learned. Its a point of pride to fix something others would deem ready for the trash heap. Its a fun learning experience to tear any machine down and reassemble it, and the feeling when you succeed, especially for a difficult machine, is fantastic. Its a fun challenge for me to find
real uses for machines that others wouldn't even consider. That's why my DD is a Powerbook G4. I have a much newer Windows laptop that I could use instead, but I choose to use the G4 because I enjoy the machine, and I enjoy keeping older tech truly useful for all my current workflows. However, I recognize that everyone doesn't enjoy those same things, and for those people, I generally say its perfectly fine to sell that machine cheaply to someone like me, and put the cash toward something a little newer for yourself.
TL;DR: At the end of the day, only you can decide if its "worth it". If you're someone who enjoys the journey and learning experiences with tech, and the parts don't cost an arm and a leg (there's a reason my A1139 PB won't get the new logic board it needs!
), then go for it! If you're not going to enjoy what you're doing, then sell it for a few bucks, and invest the money you saved on parts on something else you will enjoy.
