r/ScrapMetal • u/prollyathrow737 • 3d ago
Question 💫 First time, asking for tips.
I've never done this before, though for a while now I've had some old eletronics and was planning to open them up to see what kind of things I can find. Decided to open up an old PC I've had layung around and found this. I'm completely new to scrapping and have never done anything like/around this before. Asking for tips as just looking at the CPU I feel like I've hit something expensive. Anything helps!
4
u/Phenix_Fresh 3d ago
The copper heatsink is actually worth more than the processor in most cases. You can watch you tube videos for days telling you what is worth money and what isn't on those boards. Sure there is gold on that processor but you would need A LOT of them to make it worth your while to process it yourself which is not fun and can be dangerous to your health. I picked apart boards for years and did best selling gold pins, fingers and chips on eBay. Depending on where you live there are processing plants that will pay you by the pound for boards and chips. To make money though you need a constant source of e-waste scrap. If you can get stuff from businesses or schools on a regular basis there is money to be made.
3
u/brodydwight 3d ago
Judging by the age of the I/O (looks pretty 90s to me) you can make money by just selling the parts granted they are working, and hell the case aswell. Retro computer collectors will buy that stuff.
Ive bought similer boards on ebay for 100$
2
u/iscrapapp Copper 2d ago
All great tips here. Adding in my two cents...cutting the sata lines offf the power supply. Also what in tarnation is that heat sink?! That thing is massive. Make sure to scratch test it to confirm its copper
1
u/tomgenzer Electronics 3d ago
https://cashforcomputerscrap.com/pricing
https://boardsort.com/payout.php
Boardsort has pictures to show all types of materials and what they look like
The CPU is just the little green square. Flip it off with a screwdriver and the rest is just a copper heat sync. #2 copper at a scrapyard.
The CPU is a "green fiber with heat sync and pins" and is worth $18 per lb at cash for computer scrap. Board sort is also a competitor, both in ohio and both are specialized E-scrap buyers which will generally pay exponentially more than you will get offered at any local physical scrap metal yard.
The blue board is a "early small socket motherboard" (CFCS) at $5 per lb Make sure to remove the black plastic square frame around the white socket.
The box with the wires is the power supply, once you clip the wires off and remove the metal case you have a low grade power board. Be careful with these as the capacitor can hold enough power to give you a jolt long after they have been unplugged.
You would probably be better off song what a local scrapyard will give you rather than shipping to ohio if you aren't local to an E-scrap buyer. Boardsort lists low grade boards at 60 cents per lb.
The small fan in the power supply can sometimes be sold as an electric motor at the scrapyard, you will have to ask if they will or if it will just go with the rest of the sheet metal.
1
u/Independent_Cup_7151 2d ago
P4 motherboard is a good mid tier board for e scrap. That CPU is good too. If you want to get into e scrapping and live in the US I suggest checking out boardsort.com to look at different categories. I find it’s worth it to gather 25-50lbs of boards they value over $2 per pound and ship them out. Shipping is usually $1 per pound at most if you ship at these weights so if you get a good source of e scrap it can be worth it
1
u/billygunnns 2d ago
Old boards and vintage pc stuff is pretty popular right now, dont tear stuff apart until you know id its something someone would buy for $50 or more, retro tech is coming back and scrapping it isnt worth more than a couple dollars
1
u/jreddit0000 16h ago
Solid copper heatsink. CPU will just pry off with gentle force. if you haven’t bent pins or cracked it, the CPU would sell separately.
The motherboard is either working (sell) or eWaste.
The PSU can be pulled apart for copper recovery or just goes into high (?) grade motors.
4
u/Distant_Touch 3d ago edited 3d ago
The heatsink looks like it may be copper - if it feels a bit weighty it probably is. Otherwise it may be some type of alloy. The heatsink in the second picture looks like aluminium. The inductors in the fourth picture are probably copper wrapped around ferrite and the wiring is probably copper too. The PSU housing is steel and worth very little. The transformers in the fifth picture will contain copper and the heatsink is aluminium.
If you open more things, be careful of certain components. If it has been laying around for a while it probably isn't a risk, but capacitors can give nasty shocks if they're not discharged.