Do hard drives have gold in them?

All hard drives contain precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and Palladium. While they contain precious metals in very little amount, they still have a value.


How much gold is in a hard disk?

How much gold is in a computer hard drive? It is possible to find gold plating in small traces, not only in hard drives, RAM memory sticks, but in many other components of desktop or laptop computers. The exact amount can vary around 0.3 gram of gold worth around $20.

Are hard drives worth anything for scrap?

If you're wondering whether hard drive platters are worth anything, the answer is yes — they can be quite valuable. Scrap metal dealers will often pay good money for hard drive platters because they contain precious metals like gold and silver.


What electronics contain the most gold?

In fact, computer parts contain the most gold. It is possible to recover gold from computer boards; it is also possible to extract gold from motherboards, integrated circuits, contacts, pins and printed circuit boards.

Is recycling gold from electronics worth it?

Not necessarily. While it's true that there are precious metals in electronics, the economic value has not proved to be what many might have expected when e-waste recycling was still fairly new. It turns out that it's difficult to make recycling pay for itself, for reasons we'll get into in a moment.


How to Scrap a Harddrive for gold Platinum and other metals



What everyday items contain gold?

The processors and connectors in computers, tablets, and smartphones use gold. You can also find gold in televisions, gaming consoles, printers, or essentially anything electronic.

Is scrapping gold from computers worth it?

The circuit boards found inside a single newer laptop can contain gold worth between $15.00 and $25.00. That's not as much gold as you can typically find in a big old laptop, but it is hardly chump change - especially if you can get your hands on 50, 100 or 500 of them. Don't overlook tablets either.

What parts of a hard drive are valuable?

All hard drives contain precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and Palladium. While they contain precious metals in very little amount, they still have a value. For most people, hard drives become useless when they cannot store anymore data or contain viruses.


What old computers have the most gold in them?

List of Ceramic CPU's that have the Highest Gold Content
  • Intel 80186 / 286 / 386 / 486 / Pentium / Pentium Pro / i860 / i960.
  • Cyrix 486 / 586 / MII.
  • IBM 486 / 586 / 686.
  • Motorola 68000 / 88000 series.
  • NEC & Toshiba MIPS series: R4000 / R8000 / R10000 / R12000.
  • AMD 286 / 386 / 486 / K5 / 29000 series.
  • IDT Winchip C6 / 2A.


How much can you sell a hard drive for?

While most WD hard drives sell for ~$10 to $75, high capacity drives and WD SSDs go for higher.

Where is the platinum in a hard drive?

Platinum and some of its five sister metals are key ingredients in laptops. Platinum and rhodium are needed to manufacture liquid crystal display (LCD) screens. All hard drives now contain platinum in their magnetic layers.


Should you sell used hard drives?

To sell used hard drives is a good thing for saving money and resource recycling. However, it is dangerous to sell hard disk online since the buyer may be able to access the personal and confidential information of the previous owner.

Is there gold in DVD players?

VCRs, CD Players and DVD players

Yet they too contain printed circuit boards that contain precious gold that is worth extracting.

How much gold is in a 20 year old computer?

In brief, a Computer has around 0.310 gram of Gold which is worth around $20. Gold is present in Microprocessor, Wire tip coating and other components in a Computer.


How much gold is in a CPU?

But that's not counting the cost of removing it. Some other sources estimate that your average computer contains about 1/5th of a gram, or about $12 worth, of gold in them. Laptops, on the other hand, typically contain about 1/10th of a gram of gold, or around $6 worth.

What can you salvage from an old hard drive?

The above video has all the steps you need to disassemble the drive and use its components.
  1. DIY Magnetic Knife Block. ...
  2. Cubicle Rear View Mirror (or Other Mirrors) ...
  3. Turn Platters Into a Geeky Wind Chime. ...
  4. Make a Hidden Safe With a Hard Drive Case. ...
  5. Fancy Hard Drive Clock.


What to do with a bunch of old hard drives?

Old hard drives can be sold to raise some cash. Hard drives from old, obsolete computers can be worth money. You can list them on auction sites specializing in computer parts or on generic auction sites like eBay. Just make sure that you securely wipe all your data off the old drive before selling it.


What metal are used in the HDD?

Platters are typically made using an aluminium, glass or ceramic substrate. As of 2015, laptop hard drive platters are made from glass while aluminum platters are often found in desktop computers.

How much gold is in a TV?

Can AI Help with Mental Health? A metric ton of electronic waste contains 8 to 16 ounces of gold - a considerably profitable scenario if you have the means to properly recover the gold in a pure form. In addition to gold, other metals like lead and copper are common in electronic waste.

Is there gold in old TVs?

Televisions are made of several different materials. Some of the most valuable components of an older CRT monitor are metals. CRT TVs usually contain parts made of copper, gold, iron, steel, and many more, all of which can be refined for the manufacturing of new products.


How much gold is in a RAM stick?

DDR Ram cards? about 1.2 grams gold per 1 kg. DDR 2 & 3 Ram cards? about 3.75 grams gold per 1 kg. RD Ram chips? about 5 grams gold per 1 kg. Average mix 3.32 g per kg.

What is gold most commonly found in?

Gold is primarily found as the pure, native metal. Sylvanite and calaverite are gold-bearing minerals. Gold is usually found embedded in quartz veins, or placer stream gravel. It is mined in South Africa, the USA (Nevada, Alaska), Russia, Australia and Canada.

Where do you bump into gold in everyday life?

Today, gold still occupies an important place in our culture and society – we use it to make our most prized objects: wedding rings, Olympic medals, money, jewellery, Oscars, Grammys, crucifixes, art and many more. 1. My precious: Gold has been used to make ornamental objects and fine jewellery for thousands of years.


Where is gold most commonly found?

The largest single source of gold in history has been the Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa. Witwatersrand accounts for roughly 30% of all the gold ever mined.