Values of old motherboards are changing rapidly

For me, as an electronics specialist at Van Pelt Recyling, the diminishing value of old electronics is a recurring theme.

Processors

You may remember the processors of the past. In the pictures below you can see such an old processor. It contains several grams of gold per kilo. If we compare this processor to a modern i9 9900k processor, it contains around 0.1 grams of gold per kilo. That’s a big difference!

Fortunately, computing power has not dropped: the old Goldcap Intel has 60 Megahertz of processing power, while the modern i9 has as much as 5 Gigahertz. That’s as much as 83 times as much!

Motherboards

This also applies to motherboards; the heart of the computer. Gold is an interference-free metal. And is therefore widely used on ICT components.

Previously, certain connectors were dipped in a gold bath. Now the components are no longer dipped but atomized. As a result, the thickness of the gold layer is much less. It is expressed in Microns, also known as: 0.001 millimeters.

Cycle from purchase to outcome

At Van Pelt Recycling, we are at the end of the cycle. There is no manufacturer that informs us of the amounts of precious metals on the circuit board. We purchase motherboards and rely on the results we receive after the circuit boards have been stripped of precious metals by the refinery. This process can take months. That is why there is a lot of time between the purchase and the results after processing.

At Van Pelt Recycling, as of now, we are purchasing the parent mother in the following manner.