Where Is The Gold Inside A Computer? - How To Find Precious Metals In Electronics

[@1972Russianwolf]

gold isn't used for conductivity, as silver is much more conductive. Gold is used, especially on contact points as gold doesn't oxidize or tarnish, so the contact stays clean and allows conductivity to continue. silver or copper can tarnish making the contacts less reliable. its reliability is the key, not the conductivity itself.

[@Jason1975ism]

Gold is highly conductive.

[@thinkaboutit7362]

I watched a video from this dude and decided to get all of my back up devices...ya know tv's, computers, game systems and stuff....i am a dude in Kentucky with access to scrap electronics regularly and I mean 6 days a week I can load my car up.... I used to fix them just because I could then squirrel them away... Now I'm teaching my 7 year old son who is "teaching" his 11 month old sister about what's in what....Thub I believe they stated as your name keep going brother inspire the next generation

[@thubprint]

I wish I had the scrapyards for boards that you folks do down in the states! Idk how much influence I have personally but I hope I contribute a little bit to helping people think about the end-of-life recycling of the products they spend hard earned money on.

[@oldnormal267]

here's a year-late tip: do NOT over look the gold corner BGA chips on circuit boards. forward to 4:09 in the video. The large chip with the silvery looking circle in the middle. Those can contain ALOT of gold compared to other IC chips. remove the epoxy body from the fiber base. You will see gold foil on the fiber base, but the vast majority of the gold is in the bonding wires encapsulated in the black resin. There are a couple way to economically process them. Good Luck!

[@goodwingirl7337]

I think it's pretty cool how you gave someone else a shout out . A lot of people don't do that. Also appreciate you getting straight to the point with valuable information I learned a lot thanks a lot I appreciate it.

[@thubprint]

I do my best to connect people to other youtubers who are sharing good information! I’d love to think there are people mentioning me when relevant, but it’s ultimately about creating value for the viewer.

[@tabethakite7813]

ẞeusßß🎉 2:13 2:16 2:19

[@zolledz]

eWaste Ben is a legend

[@lisamg0704]

This and all of your videos have been the best, especially the way you explain, break it down, show pictures etc! I just found your channel a few days ago whilst searching for an explanation on #1 vs #2 copper. I don't throw any electronics away, I tell my family, "it's NOT trash, there's precious metal in there...somewhere!!" Now, thanks to you I know where and how to dig it out! We have a HUGE, heavy 70" tv from when they first came out, I think.. anyway, it has a removable adapter pack that people could buy after tv's upgraded instead of having to buy an entire new one, which were thosands of $$ back then, this giant thing has a pop up camera, HD, 3D, wave motion, voice command awesome picture & sound, I love it but when the Chiefs won the Super bowl over the Eagles, (we live in Philly), my hubby threw something very heavy and it hit the tv somewhere, IDK where it hit, i don't see any damage at all, (I wasn't t there for that scene lol) all know is when I plug it in it just buzzes then the pitch gets higher but theres no other sound or picture. Now, I know what to look for in it anyway.. Thanks Again! You're awesome!

[@jonglewongle3438]

eWaste Ben operates on an industrial scale. But he has his streams figured. He has an immediate market for his circuit boards. He has two simultaneous things in mind as he deals with each circuit board, that being what to depopulate as against the quality of the board he wants to send on to his board buyer. It is what he wants to retain for future recovery as against what he wants to more immediately send on for processing by operators who will retrieve all the available metals. It is more cost effective to limit board depopulation to maintain board quality for his buyer. It is a categorical case of if you want something done right then you gotta do it yourself. If he let other people in to do it for him then it would get all fouled up. He's got quite a niche going there.

[@shaneyarrington4628]

i watched 2, 2 hr long videos from your shout out with the chickens, almost pt e to sleep. Thank you for being more direct and informative in a fraction of the time.

[@skullmoldycandy]

best scrap page especially for learning !

[@beanz199]

for someone like me that doesn;t do this type of thing but enjoys watching ...this was soooo informative and entertaining at the same time....excellent content ..look forward to more !!

[@thubprint]

You got it!

[@PonderousSage]

My old job had a long room with towers stacked to the ceiling, all late 90s early 00s. There were seriously 100 in there. I was asked if I wanted them and said no. They paid someone else to take them all, and a month later I learned about old computers having gold and the good chips

[@sethryan09]

E wast Ben is amazing. I'm inspired by him. I just need alot more dumpsters. Iv got a ton of the gold e scrap just waiting for the right buyer to come along and make it worth my time to sell.

[@thubprint]

Nice profile pic bud 😉 an I get that. I think scrap gold is an investment of patience.

[@familydogg1234]

Let's not Forget SILVER - used for welding

[@pederlindstrom3132]

Hello Thub, Sweden here again. My regular yard pays flat rate for circuitboards, doesnt matter if it's a board from a TV remote or a telecom board. Check the currancy, I get 4 swedish krona per kg. The other yard takes high grade boards only, minimum 100kg. Stay safe and take care.

[@thubprint]

Oh wow, that’s pretty low... I guess it’s not bad if you have a lot of lower grade stuff or you leave all the steel on them. Yeah, I’d be happy to have someone offer me that. What’s the other place do for high grade?

[@pederlindstrom3132]

@@thubprint I even leave the aluminium on the boards, board price is higer at the moment. The other yard, last time I took in high grade boards it was 20 swedish krona per kg, they also pay more for copper wire and non ferrous. What is your limit for high grade wire? Here it's 60% cu. I can check with the yards and do the math for you in CAD. Just for fun.

[@Kali-King160]

I Love Your Sweet Sarcastic Humor Its enjoyable and brings an extra hint of spice to the Video... Nice Work

[@ireginawells]

Peace, Love and Gratitude Brother! Way to Love the Mother.

[@krisbennett9852]

Love the ewaste ben shout out. Seems like every scrapper on youtube looks up to Ben (myself included) keep up the good work

[@robertschultz1105]

Easter Ben is the the best I watch him all the time he knows what he's talking about!

[@thubprint]

Absolutely!

[@melvado]

Ewaste Ben got me into scrapping!

[@mr.g-sez]

ben is anotther level!

[@mr.g-sez]

@@melvado same, i did it 10 years ago and now im in again, i missed out on so much scrap! f.e: ceramic cpu's and ram, i had about 30kilo of them but somehow i lost them, i cant find them.

[@dylanscales]

yes scrap yards buy mother boards at 1.50 a lbs

[@blueshadow1996]

hello i have an ibm syatem 34 that i have taken out the boards and wire it has so much ic cxhips how much do they pay at a scrap yard jw

[@makenocommento-kj4gq]

Thubprint, Cheers and Thanks for your consise video re ; Gold and other metals, there are too many videos Online which are way too long in relation to precious metals in computers etc.

[@thubprint]

Thank you! I have mountains of respect for the intelligent and informed folks who make those videos, I’ve enjoyed quite a few of them myself. I felt like there needed to be a short list version though, for those of us with short attention spans

[@MrsMika]

Love your style and information. Please keep making videos as they are very enjoyable.

[@BigPootin]

so can i do a general bulk precious metal collection using a crucible? newbie and wanrt to first get the bulk and solid base chunks to work with later as i progress

[@awoo2714]

Your videos are HIGHLY UNDERRATED!!!!

[@MrPhrankieBones]

Hey Thub, I really like your videos and have been subscribed for a while now as your channel has really helped me to learn a lot about scrapping and metal recovery/recycling. I just wanted to say thanks for this video. I have watched as many videos as I've been able to find from different creators on identifying tantalum capacitors , but for the most part they have been vague, and unfocused with too little information on what the different types actually look like, or if the videos did have good information it just wasn't presented well. The 30 seconds or so that you took to explain what to look for when it comes to Tantalum was better than all the videos entirely dedicated to the subject that I have seen so far. Clear, close up pictures of the notable types and identifying features! Hooray! Thanks again. Keep up the good work. Cheers!

[@jasonengle4707]

Love it! So information proper!

[@nickandrews9254]

Very nicely done appreciate the Canton

[@mgomez91792]

this is a better way to know what is in these electronic boards. this is very informative.. all i need to do is find the buyers

[@thubprint]

That’s certainly the fastest way!

[@durfkludge]

Finally got a close look at your palm tat and... is that a Canadian maple leaf gold piece? Delightful. I like your style, dude.

[@Metaphysticles]

A relay note to add… I’ve come across relays &switches with all solid gold guts once you get through the plastic housing.. little tiny gold balls, and clips. Only ever milspec & medspec

[@Vandal-Vlogs]

I think that was one of your best videos.. Loved it nice work thub

[@thubprint]

Thanks so much! I tried a couple things differently but there’s still so much to learn lol

[@tommymadden9746]

Thub you should be a school teacher. Your more interesting than any teacher I ever had. Its hands on teaching. Our schools need that.

[@Bobby2BIGG]

Thank you for the video.

[@hateantis8249]

Enjoy your enthusiastic videos! Keep it up. Very educational. Another small time scrapper.

[@RHYGAR1]

Thanks.. I have to many bins of circuit boards and little knowledge of them... Now i know...

[@henryk1031]

Cool video! Got me motivated to go scrap!

[@thubprint]

Just be intentional with your time and leave it better! 😎 hehe. Have fun!

[@johnnyrondo709]

Hey thanks for the info. It really helps knowing which is what and saves yourself a ton of time. Please continue with the great videos and your time.

[@fourwheelfreedom2986]

I cracked open a relay on an older computer board just to see what kind of copper spool was inside. There was a spool of wire inside, but it is gold colored. Was there ever a relay made with a spool of gold “wire” or is this some other type of metal like a mixed copper?

[@andrewblade8857]

I got a bunch of 2015 broken chrome books do they have gold or are they to modern

[@Shazoldman]

this is the most valuable video in youtube i ever seen. thank you

[@mephenstessina6081]

Thank u for putting in the megaman music. It means a lot to me.

[@coltparris4967]

Thanks for telling us that the best thing we could do is honestly sell the board and buy gold lol. your right.

[@thubprint]

Thank you! I know it’s kind of a boring answer but I think it’s better to be realistic instead of getting caught up in some massively impractical fantasy after watching a few too many videos. Just because you could doesn’t mean you should lol

[@ThunderboltWisdom]

Yeah. Go on man! Scrap magic! Like it!

[@thubprint]

You’re a gem ☺️

[@DavidGS66]

I'd like to know how much do we on average make if we simply send all green circuit boards together?

[@TheWatchRepairersPerspective]

Interesting video! THANKS!

[@megansherrow7941]

Educational. Entertaining. And just the answers I was looking for. Thanks!

[@thubprint]

My pleasure! There’s a few KZbinrs far more knowledgeable if you want to get right into it, I learned everything from Ewaste Ben.

[@RadenHZ26]

I always buying computer waste from home to home, and it's worth the effort, especially the older and ancient hardware contain a lot of precious metal.

[@Knits4kicks]

Most places will say “nah it’s not worth anything, but you can drop it in this box and we will recycle it for you.”

[@Keepskatin]

Because they want it for free

[@Beauchot78]

thanks for the details. great video.

[@kevink.2719]

Awesome stuff 👍

[@tomiadventures]

everyone says gold is used because of it's high conductivity, but I really don't think that is the case. sure, gold is a great conductor, but not as good as copper or silver, so it can't be primarily because of it's conductive properties. i think it has something to do with it being a very resilient metal: it won't oxidize and is difficult to tarnish. but i'm not sure how these properties compare to silver, which is the greatest conductor and much cheaper in comparison. also, we have to remember about solder-ability as well as how expensive it is to actually apply the material, let alone the material itself. i've been looking for the whole answer for nearly a half year now.

[@MegaEngineer1980]

Hi. Ewaste best market for it where ?? Chaina or Jaban? Please can you share any details about this because I heard that big market foe Ewaste is Chaina,Jaban and Also Korea.

[@JanKuhn-q9r]

Yelo .. whats that goldish sircles on the greenbord made of and goldish corners

[@traviskalchik3429]

Hey man. Love the content. Just as a side note: Although generally negligible. The small numbered black resistors contain ruthenium of the platinum family. Perhaps not worth much currently. Could be worth more moving forward. Cheers!

[@MikeDial]

I'm so glad I watched this. Now I know that recycling precious metal from my old laptop is more work than I want to do for the little money I would get for just one laptop.

[@thubprint]

It’s pretty hard to make it worthwhile. The motherboards are high grade as boards go, but here in Canada I don’t have a good buyer for them yet

[@pmae9010]

Thank you for the video, 'There is some gold in these words'.

[@KarmaHoax]

Another gem Thub. Happy to heat that you're saving the worth while stuff and things. I also started depopulating boards months ago and have started to build a solid collection. It's more a hobby then a money maker. We see the value that is there, plus no one should want toxic substance's going to a landfill. Lastly I love and respect E-Waste Ben. I have been subbed for over a year and learned a ton of stuff. Keep Doin' The Thing buddy!

[@TheUltimateRecycler]

Nice Thub - you just need the white lab coat now to complete the mad scientist look! 🤣 I do like how the world wide scrapper community supports each other! I'm sure ewaste ben appreciates the plug! 😊👍

[@thubprint]

The Ultimate Recycler that’s a great idea! It can be my Smart Guy Does Science Worksona! 🤣 I’m sure Ben doesn’t need my help but I respect his work and he’s a mentor to me even if he doesn’t know about me lol. Would love to crack a beer with the guy and talk shop 👌

[@TheUltimateRecycler]

@@thubprint Yeah, I've been watching Ben for yonks! He's only an hour and a half down the road from me actually. He was nice enough to help me with some things when I first started my channel! 👍 Perhaps a scrapper's BBQ at Ben's place when we can all travel again! You must wear your lab coat & glasses tho! 😉🤣

[@grandpakevin3354]

Great info thanks. I am being educated!

[@TheLandlordPicker]

Finally....A Summary of parts. I'll save this one to look back on a few times. Thanks Man

[@thubprint]

That’s what I was trying to do! Glad it was helpful 🙂

[@jackmiller1209]

Great video! The viewer can get a good general idea of where to start with the PCB’s.

[@thubprint]

That was the idea! Of course there are many in-depth videos for folks who want to get right into it, but I figured there must be a handful of people who just want an easy quick-start guide. Hopefully they can find it!

[@kieranbarley9128]

Good info 🎉

[@tonyalba790]

Save your pc boards. Precious metal's will likely go higher. They should anyway as silver supplies are tightening up. It's projected to be globally short 200 million oz this year, meaning they'll need to deplete from already existing stock piles, likely emptying out the COMEX, LBMA and borrowing from SLV vaults.

[@johntrueblood8234]

Good info, thank you!

[@ChuckLose]

E-Waste ben is great all I know is from that gentleman..

[@gregorychollar3080]

This is pretty cool

[@benlines2987]

Hi mate. My name is Ben. Hi 👋 I am looking at the idea of picking off from electronic boards. Are you suggesting pick them off bag them and sell them to refiners for cash?

[@johandupreez662]

Hi Johan here.tel me after every thing have been removed from sercet bord.the fines .I call them scraped of the bord.will contain.say soldering.silver, gold scrapiping.ex setra.how would u separate.all of them .and are the value better for the gold because it clean .do u get more per ouns or wat

[@glendajames4716]

Glasses look nice 😎

[@thubprint]

Thank you! 😁

[@pjgraves03]

Good info as I am interested in scrap gold bars

[@tamaragentry2861]

Thank you for sharing.

[@kimhallums9166]

Interesting. Thanks for this and keep up the good work.

[@seanl.7088]

good quick hit on a saturated subject, thanks man

[@thubprint]

Thank you! That’s what my aim was, some folks were suggesting I take a crack at it and It’s been covered a lot already so this seemed like my best shot at adding some kind of value.

[@artisfu9]

This guy has a GREATTALKING VOICE!!!

[@danielhall6938]

Just got old military data recorder. Looks like it has at least 30 boards. Can't wait to see what's actually inside. Sypris data recorder from 2008

[@thubprint]

Oooh, I’d love to go through some of that old stuff! I’ve been watching omegageek64, he’s started a series where he REALLY gets into what you can find on those kinds of boards. There’s a lot to know!

[@alexmurphy9025]

There's a yard near me in the US that was paying $1.00/lb+ for circuit boards last year before gold prices shot up

[@thubprint]

For any and all? That’s pretty decent! Well... I guess it depends, I wouldn’t want to sell my ram for that. If I had one of those nearby though I’d be there all the time!

[@alexmurphy9025]

@@thubprint price varied depending on quality of components, but I'm glad I called around for pricing because it was about 2100 pounds of circuit boards that I thought I was going to need a dumpster for

[@thubprint]

Alex Murphy heck yeah bud!!!

[@sakupljac6012]

Najbolji ste, pozdrav iz Hrvatske

[@jaxonryder]

This dude for all his videos is amazing

[@najyotama9812]

Thankyou for infos and helping others😍

[@thubprint]

I’m trying anyway! 😊

[@lindalong2297]

So glad u threw in the chips for laughs.✌🏻

[@gussuperman7565]

M8 you're a legend on your own right. Keep up the good work. God bless y'all.

[@thubprint]

You’re too kind 😄 I’ll keep doing what I can though! All the best to you 🤙

[@mimpjr64]

Very informative! Thanks for the info. Totally diggin the tattoo on your left palm too. Dope

[@thubprint]

Thank you! It’s my favourite tattoo 😊

[@Wolfsoro]

Im going to try and use the same rules for tvs and other electronics. I find a lot of discarded things id love to chemically separate for some more cash

[@aquarianshift]

I have been tearing down and collecting this stuff for awhile now. But I am too nervous to use chemicals to separate the gold. Do people buy the stuff raw like I have it, pre separated, or should I attempt to harvest the gold using the acids???

[@thubprint]

Yup, refiners will buy the components as scrap. Most folks shouldn’t be playing with the acids and toxic gases involved in the separation methods, plus you’ll lose a lot of metals that more complex methods would capture.

[@CandSMINING]

Thanks for all the info. Not really too sure what I will do with it.

[@CrimsonsWorld07]

It’s not cringe it actually entertaining!

[@thubprint]

😄

[@robinjonson5242]

Awesome !! Love the humor !👍

[@JayCisneroz]

What about the connectors on the boards?

[@willsmith4233]

You have lots to learn my friend

[@victoriaharrison-sewell6717]

Thank you for this informative video. I have been stripping down boards for Palladium, Silver, Gold & Copper, & hope to recycle to the bullion dealer from which I buy my wire for my craft work. I haven't actually sent any yet. Do I send it in it's raw state, as it is recovered from the phone/computer etc? Would appreciate your feedback, thank you..

[@twosongs7396]

Thank you so much for this video. I always wondered what the hype was about; now I know 😄

[@vincentsmith9937]

There's small buttons on certain circuit boards is there anything valuable in them? My next question is there silver inside switches that turn things on

[@cdcVintage]

I am going to start leaving you more comments to help you out. I also shared one of your videos on my families big screen tv. You are famous now LMAO.

[@thubprint]

You’re a legend! 😁 I’ll keep trying to make videos worth sharing 😎

[@ryantimmins9479]

Thub, great video and very informative. I am glad you explained that selling the boards as is, is more lucrative then trying to recover the precious metals. Here's hoping that Canada eventually has a way for you to do so.

[@thubprint]

Thank you, and yep! Hoping the same thing lol

[@magdalenehenricus2075]

Wonderful

[@christopherfuentes1278]

Can I recover the metals from any circuit board? What are the best boards for recovery?

[@tonydavis460]

Thank you sir very helpful

[@rubensantiago6403]

You ROCK !!! Keep up the great work !!!

[@jrb6969]

Finally! You Rock! And you did it in less than 5 min! Thank you! Honestly this is the 1st video I personally have found that actually explains what "Exactly" to keep. Every other one I have found says "keep this, but no explanation as to why and which one is or isn't except save them up"! But not that to do with them once I have them saves up?? Thoroughly appreciate you! I was in the middle of deciding to throw out the rest if what I've gathered as I took 3 bins of boards to salvage along with a bin of thick aluminum and a bin of copper. I walked out with $80. I was crushed as I knew there was more $$ in there I just didn't realize they actually want us to remove everything. They don't care or want boards with stuff on them! Who knew! Needless to say I'm now ready to do this correctly and have found an on liberal very reputable company to mail it to for maximum cash flow! Was the point, right! Again, many thanks!

[@thubprint]

Nice! I was in the same boat, I’d been digging through everything I could find to try and understand but nothing seemed to “sum up” the basics. Basically a continuation of the video series I was putting together. As a Canadian outside of Ontario I don’t have a decent buyer of boards so I just pick off the best bits and take the 10cents/lb I’m given for the leftovers, but I don’t process enough Ewaste to put together a shipment worth sending through the post.

[@chacedrinkwalter3346]

​@@thubprint hi, could you please send me links to your other videos? I'm not finding any

[@thubprint]

@@chacedrinkwalter3346 if you click on my profile pic you should end up at the channel page where all my playlists are

[@brentjenkinsdesigns]

Well done. A start for beginners. Which, I believe was your main goal. Keep up the good work Thub.

[@thubprint]

Exactly! I know it’s not for everyone, but there are plenty of people looking for this video so I hope they find it helpful 😊

[@brettbretterson6062]

Wayyy better than ben. This guy knows how to edit a video!