If you have hundreds of old desktop or laptop computers on hand that you’d like to discard or recycle, it’s pretty easy to tell that they contain gold. You can simply open them up, look inside, and see gold winking back at you on many of the electrical components there. All you have to do is remove some of the shiny parts and send them to qualified gold refiners and wait to be paid, right?
Maybe, but before you send those inner parts to a gold refiner, it’s a good idea to know what you’re looking at when you open a computer and poke around inside. Where, exactly, can the gold be found? Here’s a quick review.
Motherboards and Circuit Boards
Motherboards – the biggest circuit boards inside both laptops and desktops – often contain the “mother lode” of gold in used computers. Their edges have gold contacts and connectors where wires slide on. You will also find thin layers of gold applied to motherboards’ surfaces.
Central Processors
Central processors are the large square microchip-like components that you’ll find plugged into motherboards. Because they have several hundred gold-plated pins around their edges, they can be worth a lot of money if you have sufficient quantities of them.
Memory Chips
These little circuit boards, about half the size of a packet of artificial sweetener, have been plugged into many computers to increase their RAM. They usually contain a small number of gold-plated pins and a small quantity of gold on their surfaces.
Internal Modems, Ethernet Port Boards, Graphics Boards and other Peripherals
Virtually all desktop computers contain at least two of these “extra” boards. They can contain significant amounts of gold – both in their pins and on their surface layers.
What about Wires, Cooling Fans, and other Internal Components?
These elements can contain aluminum, copper, and other metals that can be recycled. However, the real value resides in the components described above.
How to Cash in on the Computer Electronics Scrap You Have
Even if you have only a few hundred old computers, it’s worth calling Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners at 800-426-2344 to discuss what you have. And if you have more than that, you could sitting on a “pot of gold” that our qualified gold refiners can open up for you.
Note: Electrical components must be removed from old computers and sent to Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners – we do not accept whole computers for testing or recycling. But it’s easy and safe to remove components. Call us today and we’ll tell you how.
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