Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 21

Thread: Cash your gold!

  1. #1
    Headless Chicken Terbinator's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    7,670
    Thanks
    1,210
    Thanked
    727 times in 595 posts
    • Terbinator's system
      • Motherboard:
      • ASRock H61M
      • CPU:
      • Intel Xeon 1230-V3
      • Memory:
      • Geil Evo Corsa 2133/8GB
      • Storage:
      • M4 128GB, 2TB WD Red
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte GTX Titan
      • PSU:
      • Corsair AX760i
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster 130
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8.1 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell Ultrasharp U2711H
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media 60Mb.

    Cash your gold!

    Here

    Seen this posted up on the Aria forum, thought I'd share it here as its quite a good read, even for Tom's.
    Kalniel: "Nice review Tarinder - would it be possible to get a picture of the case when the components are installed (with the side off obviously)?"
    CAT-THE-FIFTH: "The Antec 300 is a case which has an understated and clean appearance which many people like. Not everyone is into e-peen looking computers which look like a cross between the imagination of a hyperactive 10 year old and a Frog."
    TKPeters: "Off to AVForum better Deal - £20+Vat for Free Shipping @ Scan"
    for all intents it seems to be the same card minus some gays name on it and a shielded cover ? with OEM added to it - GoNz0.

  2. Received thanks from:

    Blackmage (04-08-2010),MaddAussie (04-08-2010),mycarsavw (04-08-2010),nibbler (04-08-2010),Saracen (04-08-2010),Ulti (04-08-2010)

  3. #2
    Senior Member Blackmage's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    London
    Posts
    1,934
    Thanks
    202
    Thanked
    65 times in 45 posts
    • Blackmage's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI P67-GD65
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core I7 2600k
      • Memory:
      • 8 Gb Hynix DDR3 1333
      • Storage:
      • Crucial m4 120Gb, 2TB Samsung F4
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ATI HD5830
      • PSU:
      • 700w Coolermaster Gold Plus
      • Case:
      • Xclio/Aplus Windtunnel
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Professional
      • Monitor(s):
      • Viewsonic VX2239WM 22" LCD Monitor
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Broadband 10mbit

    Re: Cash your gold!

    Um, that was interesting!

  4. #3
    Admin (Ret'd)
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Posts
    18,481
    Thanks
    1,016
    Thanked
    3,208 times in 2,281 posts

    Re: Cash your gold!

    It was indeed interesting. A superb read.

    But Terbinator .... you'll never know how close that was. I saw the thread title and was already reaching for the "ban spammer" button before the poster's name percolated into my grey matter.

  5. #4
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,231
    Thanked
    2,291 times in 1,874 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: Cash your gold!

    It was a fascinating article - but what I want to know is how they got into my study to take that picture of the big pile of motherboards on the first page

    I already knew that a lot of gold was produced commercially by recovery from computer equipment, but it's interesting to see that a "homebrew" methodology can produce a quantifiable amount of gold - and if that much came from a relatively small number of old motherboards, I don't think you'd have to multiply up the process too much to make it at least break even...

  6. #5
    Banned
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Carlisle
    Posts
    4,121
    Thanks
    504
    Thanked
    368 times in 278 posts
    • matty-hodgson's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Abit IP35 Dark Raider
      • CPU:
      • Q6600 @ 4GHz (59'C Under a TRUE Black)
      • Memory:
      • 4GB OCZ DDR2 890MHz (5-4-4-15)
      • Storage:
      • Intel 80GB - Games. Intel 80GB - OS. 1TB Samsung - Storage.
      • Graphics card(s):
      • NVIDIA Zotac GTX 275: 728 Core, 1614 Shader, 1340 Memory
      • PSU:
      • Enermax MODU82+ 625w
      • Case:
      • Antec 300
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung SM2343BW (2048x1152)
      • Internet:
      • Smallworld 4Mbps

    Re: Cash your gold!

    Anyone want to send me 5000 motherboards and I'll let you know if it works or not

  7. #6
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,231
    Thanked
    2,291 times in 1,874 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: Cash your gold!

    There used to be an ebay seller who was flogging old motherboards by the ton specifically for gold recovery. Doesn't seem to be listed now - presumably they either gave up or sold them all...

  8. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    1,731
    Thanks
    230
    Thanked
    151 times in 132 posts
    • Sputnik's system
      • Motherboard:
      • J&W 790GX Extreme
      • CPU:
      • AMD Phenom II 720be
      • Memory:
      • OCZ DDR2-6400
      • PSU:
      • Enermax

    Re: Cash your gold!

    I remember reading an article about commercially recovering precious metals from old electronics where they crunched the PCB's into little 'biscuits' then processed them somehow for the metals from everything on the board. It was surprising how much precious metals they got from a ton of old mobile phones.

  9. #8
    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The land of Brum
    Posts
    10,143
    Thanks
    608
    Thanked
    1,226 times in 1,123 posts
    • Pob255's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus M5A99X EVO
      • CPU:
      • FX8350 & CM Hyper 212+
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 2gb Corsair Vengence 1600mhz cas9
      • Storage:
      • 512gb samsung SSD +1tb Samsung HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EGVA GTX970
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic GX 650W
      • Case:
      • HAF 912+
      • Operating System:
      • W7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama XB3270QS-B1 32" IPS 1440p

    Re: Cash your gold!

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    but it's interesting to see that a "homebrew" methodology can produce a quantifiable amount of gold - and if that much came from a relatively small number of old motherboards, I don't think you'd have to multiply up the process too much to make it at least break even...
    Ummm think about that again.
    This

    +
    A lot of chemicals
    =


    The return on that much gold would not cover the cost of the chemicals alone.
    The companies that do this sort of recovery & recycling, also hack up other bits, like the cap's, to recover materials from them, lead commonly is recovered off older electronics.

    To really make something like this profitable you need to do it on an industrial scale and recover multiple materials.

  10. #9
    Sprouts are not food Attila the Bun's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Not Bath anymore - but close
    Posts
    752
    Thanks
    74
    Thanked
    42 times in 37 posts
    • Attila the Bun's system
      • Motherboard:
      • ASUS Maximus VII Gene
      • CPU:
      • Intel i7 4790K with H100i cooler
      • Memory:
      • 16GB CORSAIR Vengence 1600
      • Storage:
      • 250 GB Samsung 850 EVO / 256GB Samsung 830 / 1 TB Hitachi Deskstar
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ASUS RADEON 7970 CU II TOP
      • PSU:
      • 650w EVGA Supernova G2
      • Case:
      • Lian Li V359
      • Operating System:
      • Win 7 Pro / Win 8(laptop)
      • Monitor(s):
      • Various
      • Internet:
      • 16mb down, 1mb up

    Re: Cash your gold!

    "hydrochloric acid and chlorine bleach is what will dissolve the gold"

    I have a smile on my face as I picture the first guy to discover that you can dissolve gold
    Of course I'm perfect you just need to lower your expectations.

  11. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    1,731
    Thanks
    230
    Thanked
    151 times in 132 posts
    • Sputnik's system
      • Motherboard:
      • J&W 790GX Extreme
      • CPU:
      • AMD Phenom II 720be
      • Memory:
      • OCZ DDR2-6400
      • PSU:
      • Enermax

    Re: Cash your gold!

    There is actually gold everywhere but, In such small quantities that extracting it would not be economical.

    Did anyone see blood, sweat and luxuries where they went mining for gold in Ghana? They processed tons of sand/earth to gain a tiny bit of gold.

  12. #11
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,231
    Thanked
    2,291 times in 1,874 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: Cash your gold!

    Quote Originally Posted by Pob255 View Post
    Ummm think about that again.
    Ahhh, I wasn't being entirely serious. But that pile must be about - what - 20 motherboards? That's not a huge number. And I suspect that they massively over-estimated the amount of the various chemicals they used - you can probably recover several times more gold with the same amount of chemicals if you have the motherboards...

    The trick to it would be to turn all the recovered materials into gift items - like those clipboards and coasters made from old PCBs. They can be sold for far greater than their raw material value...

  13. #12
    Editable... jimbouk's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Bristol
    Posts
    3,069
    Thanks
    319
    Thanked
    278 times in 226 posts
    • jimbouk's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asrock B450M-HDV R4.0
      • CPU:
      • AMD Ryzen 5 3600
      • Memory:
      • Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4 3200 MHz C16
      • Storage:
      • Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB NVMe PCIe M.2 2280
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic Core Gold GC-650
      • Case:
      • Lian-Li PC-V1100 ATX
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • AOC CU34G2/BK 34" Widescreen
      • Internet:
      • EE FTC

    Re: Cash your gold!

    My brother's ex-girlfriend's parent's neighbour used to do this in his back yard, I don't think he ever got much money from it but he kept himself amused. Great article though, love the science

  14. #13
    Headless Chicken Terbinator's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    7,670
    Thanks
    1,210
    Thanked
    727 times in 595 posts
    • Terbinator's system
      • Motherboard:
      • ASRock H61M
      • CPU:
      • Intel Xeon 1230-V3
      • Memory:
      • Geil Evo Corsa 2133/8GB
      • Storage:
      • M4 128GB, 2TB WD Red
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gigabyte GTX Titan
      • PSU:
      • Corsair AX760i
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster 130
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8.1 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell Ultrasharp U2711H
      • Internet:
      • Virgin Media 60Mb.

    Re: Cash your gold!

    Who cares how much gold you get from X amount of components - that guy is rockin' a gold BB - the hardest part is deciding who to fire it at
    Kalniel: "Nice review Tarinder - would it be possible to get a picture of the case when the components are installed (with the side off obviously)?"
    CAT-THE-FIFTH: "The Antec 300 is a case which has an understated and clean appearance which many people like. Not everyone is into e-peen looking computers which look like a cross between the imagination of a hyperactive 10 year old and a Frog."
    TKPeters: "Off to AVForum better Deal - £20+Vat for Free Shipping @ Scan"
    for all intents it seems to be the same card minus some gays name on it and a shielded cover ? with OEM added to it - GoNz0.

  15. #14
    Senior Member Pob255's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    The land of Brum
    Posts
    10,143
    Thanks
    608
    Thanked
    1,226 times in 1,123 posts
    • Pob255's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus M5A99X EVO
      • CPU:
      • FX8350 & CM Hyper 212+
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 2gb Corsair Vengence 1600mhz cas9
      • Storage:
      • 512gb samsung SSD +1tb Samsung HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EGVA GTX970
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic GX 650W
      • Case:
      • HAF 912+
      • Operating System:
      • W7 Pro
      • Monitor(s):
      • iiyama XB3270QS-B1 32" IPS 1440p

    Re: Cash your gold!

    that guy is rockin' a gold BB - the hardest part is deciding who to fire it at
    Easy, the nearest rapper you can find.

  16. #15
    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Aberdeen
    Posts
    19,874
    Thanks
    630
    Thanked
    965 times in 816 posts
    • Funkstar's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core2Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz)
      • Memory:
      • 8GB OCZ PC2-6400C5 800MHz Quad Channel
      • Storage:
      • 650GB Western Digital Caviar Blue
      • Graphics card(s):
      • 512MB ATI Radeon HD4550
      • PSU:
      • Antec 350W 80+ Efficient PSU
      • Case:
      • Antec NSK1480 Slim Mini Desktop Case
      • Operating System:
      • Vista Ultimate 64bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell 2407 + 2408 monitors
      • Internet:
      • Zen 8mb

    Re: Cash your gold!

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    Ahhh, I wasn't being entirely serious. But that pile must be about - what - 20 motherboards? That's not a huge number. And I suspect that they massively over-estimated the amount of the various chemicals they used - you can probably recover several times more gold with the same amount of chemicals if you have the motherboards...

    The trick to it would be to turn all the recovered materials into gift items - like those clipboards and coasters made from old PCBs. They can be sold for far greater than their raw material value...
    That's what I was thinking Jim.

    Although I think the main money earner from recycling PCBs would be the amount of copper you could extract and possibly the lead as well. Not very glamerous metals, but could well end up being more valuable simply because of the quantities involved.

  17. #16
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,231
    Thanked
    2,291 times in 1,874 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: Cash your gold!

    Quote Originally Posted by Funkstar View Post
    That's what I was thinking Mike.
    Who's mike?

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Dabbling with gold
    By Englander in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 15-01-2009, 05:47 PM
  2. gold ide cables
    By ozzymactom in forum Chassis and Mods
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 16-06-2004, 05:40 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •