Should I Really Cut the Fingers off the RAM ??

I have seen lots of posts about cutting the fingers off of the RAM cards, but is it really neccessary ? Once I have all the Chips and other parts removed, can't I just process the whole cards and save the time and effort of cutting the fingers off ?
What are the downsides to Not cutting them off ?

You would be dissolving extra base metals needlessly plus solder(tin) in you solution plus requiring a lot more solution to accomplish the task(more waste). Otherwise I don't see a problem.
Maybe someone else will have a different input! :|

you covered it pretty well. after removing the chips, the only gold of any quantity left is the fingers. your talking about dissolving maybe 20X the amount of base metal in the fingers.

I think maynman hit it on the head. You would be generating more waste. I'm not sure how much more, but I would say significant enough amounts to questions the cost effectiveness of the process as you stated. If you want to process the other components, just remove them. I don't think the sticks themselves with all the components removed warrants AP. Granted, it takes time to remove all that stuff. I would trim the cards, and save the sticks for when you have some time to remove the rest. Process the easily removed components first. You could always just sell the trimmed cards. Depending on what your time is worth, and your yield data from the parts processed, it might be a better route.

i digest the tin from the whole stick with hcl and collect the silver powder. the components just fall off, and then trim the fingers. i re-use the hcl until its saturated with tin. heres a little trick to get more mileage from your hcl. after its saturated with tin, put the acid into a plastic bottle and freeze it for a couple of days. the tin will precipitate out as white crystals. filter while still cold and re-use to clean more parts.

Geo
do you know if it is tin chloride? or metalic tin that get out of solution ?

tin chloride i assume. the crystals are long and sharp, white, and non metalic, though some does come down very dark. im sure it can be reduced but i cant think of a reason to try it.only a few grams at a time will precipitate out.

Geo

Not that it really matters, but, i think what you are seeing is actually lead chloride.
Tin chloride is highly soluble in water, Wiki states it is: 839 g/L ml (0 °C)

Lead on the other hand: 6.73 g/L (0 °C)
It also grows needle like crystals.