# What to pay for cpus,boards,cards



## mu50stang (Oct 24, 2008)

Whats a good price to pay for cpus, boards, cards. I have a dealer who has a ton of it and want to find out a fair price so when I refine it it will be worth it. Thanks.


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## lazersteve (Oct 24, 2008)

It all depends on the age and quality of the scrap.

The older the better, with pre-mid 90's stuff being mid grade.

The price all depends on the spot prices of metals.

Free is always best.

Steve


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## Anonymous (Oct 24, 2008)

You will have a hard time making any money - unless you have free labor - and pay very little.


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## mu50stang (Oct 24, 2008)

I know someone who has 200 cpus for sale for 100.00. they are the kind with the gold pins that stick out of them. Is that a good deal.


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## lazersteve (Oct 24, 2008)

Got any photos?

Steve


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## mu50stang (Oct 25, 2008)

THEY LOOK LIKE THIS


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## lazersteve (Oct 25, 2008)

These are 'fiber' cpus.

Typically MMX and early Celeron processors.

They don't contain $2 worth of gold each.

I would expect less than 0.75 grams of 24 kt per pound.

Steve


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## mu50stang (Oct 25, 2008)

he is selling them to me for .50 per processor. Can you use ap to harvest and refine these.


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## lazersteve (Oct 25, 2008)

The legs are plated kovar which does not work very well with AP.

I would go with dilute nitric or AR.

Steve


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## mu50stang (Oct 25, 2008)

Where can I find the steps for these two processes.


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## butcher (Oct 25, 2008)

see Lasersteves post above He has link to his website click on it for a fun time and good info to your question. :wink:

Nitric acid or aqua regia a search for these would be more simple than another explanation, can make either as poor man or buy the chemicals,


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## mu50stang (Oct 26, 2008)

i dropped those processors in and ap mix and they are stripping pretty good. Have you guys tried it before.


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## lazersteve (Oct 26, 2008)

Typically AP will eat the solder from the CPU through holes and the surface of the legs without a problem. It slows down at the core of the legs. You may have better luck than I did, since I reuse the same batch of AP over and over again. A fresh batch may produce different results.

Steve


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## mu50stang (Oct 27, 2008)

Here is a picture of what I got. Got some nice gold flakes off of it. The pins were left behind not sure how to get them out. They do stick to a magnet. I was wondering if i needed to get them out before I put them in the chlorine and acid mix to precipitate them.


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## Rag and Bone (Oct 27, 2008)

Like looking into the stars...or a blurry aerial photo? 

The Pentium "fiber" style chips you are stripping are a bugger. Get yourself some ceramic 386, 486 or Pentium Pro's and you will have some fun. The gold content is much higher and they are much more user friendly. 

Keep at it!


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## viacin (Oct 30, 2008)

Found 120 pentium III celerons. About 3lbs worth. Are they worth messing with? I'm not looking to make a lot of money, just need some experience and want to at least break even on chemicals. I've read $.50 worth of gold each several times, but everyone is not sure or is just guessing. Does anyone really know what they are worth after processing?


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## lazersteve (Oct 30, 2008)

Are they the slotted variety or the PGA type?

Steve


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## viacin (Oct 31, 2008)

PGA. I passed on them since I didn't know how much they were worth. I'de still like to know for next time tho 

Are pentium III's considered flip chips?


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## lazersteve (Oct 31, 2008)

Slotted PIIIs are not technically flip chips, although the core of early slotted varieties of PIII resemble flip chips. Flip chips have the core exposed on top. Non slotted PIII's (and FCPGA celerons) are considered flip chips.

Steve


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## viacin (Oct 31, 2008)

interesting. I love computer parts and have read a great deal about them. I really didn't think I would learn anything about them in this forum. Just goes to show you never know everything.

but what about the gold content?


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## lazersteve (Oct 31, 2008)

The gold content of flip chips and later generation cpus is very small. Less than 0.5 grams per pound, with new P4's and Athlons at less than 0.25 grams per pound at best.

Steve


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## viacin (Oct 31, 2008)

so, pretty much anything PII and up should be avoided unless they are slot cards, or are there a few exceptions?


EDIT: Found my answer:

"The FC-PGA (Flip Chip-Pin Grid Array) package is used on certain Intel Celeron, Pentium III, and Pentium 4 family microprocessors. FC-PGA processors fit into zero insertion force (ZIF) Socket 370 and Socket 478 motherboard sockets; similar packages have also been used by AMD.

FC-PGA packaging is used by Pentium III processors, and Celeron 533, unofficially called 533A, processors onward. Earlier Celeron processors used PPGA packaging, the fastest was at 533 MHz.

FC-PGA2, adds a heat spreader over the silicon core and is used on late Pentium III processors and most Pentium 4 and Celeron processors using Socket 478 (180nm Willamette and 130nm Northwood). FC-PGA4 is used by Intel Pentium 4 and Celeron D processors using 90 nm process (Prescott based) also with integrated heat spreader. Intel Mobile Pentium 4-M processors did not have the integrated heat spreader and so use FC-PGA packaging.

Intel replaced FC-PGA style packaging with the land grid array (LGA775) or FC-LGA4 packaging on Prescott-based Pentium 4 and Celeron D processors which no longer have pins."

So, in summary, a list of flip chips, with assumably low gold content:

1. Celeron, PIII, and P4 on Socket 370 and Socket 478.
2. Celeron 533 (unofficially called 533A), Celeron D, and Intel Mobile Pentium 4-M

I'm sure this list could be expanded to include many other cpus with low gold content. Any additions are more than appreciated!

Ya know, I loved my core two duo. That was, untill I spilled a glass of tea on the motherboard and fried everything. Best computer I ever built. It sure beat my P4 prescott 5 times over.


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