When a computer gets old or permanently damaged, most people worry about how to get rid of the junk. Good among these people think about recycling computer waste to save the environment. However, few people consider dismantling the computer and selling it for scrap. If you are one of those few people, then you have come to the right place.
As you’ll find out later in this article, not all of your computer’s components are as valuable as scrap. Some parts are useless and must be safely recycled. This article will help you identify the parts of your computer that are valuable as scrap and where you can sell those components.
What computer parts are valuable as scrap?
It may come as a surprise, but even scrap yards don’t accept every piece of junk you find when you dismantle a computer. If the computer has some working parts, you can sell them to repair shops where they can use computer spare parts.
However, if you intend to dismantle a computer and find valuable materials, you should know that only some components are valuable as scrap. A few decades ago, computer scraps were valuable in the industry because when you scrapped them, you could find many precious metals like gold, silver, and titanium.
However, modern computers are now made of less expensive materials such as copper and aluminum. Laptops are even less valuable to scrapyards because you won’t find as much valuable metal when scrapping them.
You can find the following precious metals in your computer components:
to sleep
This is the most valuable precious metal you can find when scrapping a computer. The internal components of older computers contain more gold than modern computers because manufacturers now try to replace gold with less expensive materials.
You can find gold material on your CPU chips, printed circuit boards, motherboards, hard drives and RAM boards.
silver
It is rare in older computers and almost impossible to find in modern computers. However, if your computer is old enough, there is nothing wrong with finding silver in its components. If you’re lucky, you’ll find silver in circuit boards, keyboard membranes, and computer chips.
Platinum
It is as rare as silver. You can only find it in older computers. They are commonly found in circuit boards and hard drive components.
Copper and aluminum
Both metals are sought after in the scrap metal industry. You can find copper in computer wires, the back of your CPU chip, and your power supply unit, while aluminum can be found in your computer’s frame, heat sinks, and hard drive case.
Other metals you may find in your computer include steel, cobalt, zinc, tin, etc. The best thing you can do is to find a scrap yard in your area and look for computer parts that they are willing to buy as scrap.
Where can you sell your scrap computer?
Selling computer scrap is a win-win activity. As the owner, you get rid of your junk and make money from it. As a buyer, you can reuse precious metal from computer scrap rather than spending significantly more to obtain the equivalent metal through mining and extraction. The environment also wins because computer scrap is recycled for other uses.
Scrap yards in your area
This is the easiest place to sell your scrap computer, and the risk involved is low. Find a scrap yard in your area and verify prices for computer scrap. You will get paid more for your scrap computer if you can separate the metals in your computer from the non-metals before taking it to the scrap yard.
The entire computer may look like junk, but the internal components usually contain valuable metal that scrap yards will love. If you can dismantle the computer and separate the valuable scrap before hauling it in, you’ll be able to charge a higher price for your scrap.
Online market
Selling your scrap computer online will guarantee more money than at a scrap yard, but the risk is significantly higher. Popular websites where you can sell scrap computers include eBay, Alibaba, Scrapmetalbuyers.com, webuyuseditequipment.net, etc.
Gold recovery
If you can extract enough gold from your computer, you can sell the gold to local jewelers, pawn shops, gold buyers, or precious metal dealers. You can also sell it online to gold dealers for more money.
Recycling plants
Many recycling plants pay to take your scrap computer and save the environment. They also help destroy computer waste that cannot be recycled.
Is gold recovery worth it?
There are only two reasons why you should try to remove gold from your computer. The first reason is to make money, while the second reason is to have fun doing science experiments. But since this article focuses on making money from computer scraps, we can rule out the second reason.
As a first point, we can tell you that the average desktop computer has about $12 worth of gold. The process of extracting gold from a computer is time-consuming and requires some expertise on the subject. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t make you rich even if you persevere.
If you’re working on a few computers, recovering sleep from your computer isn’t worth it. But if you have dozens of computers, you can make enough money to cover the cost of your materials, time, and effort.
Final Thought:
Computer scrap might not be appealing to you as a user, but there are lots of people who will pay good money for it. We’ve done our part by providing you with several options.