First make sure your computer doesn't work, a working computer is always worth more than its scrap metal value.
Computers contain many types pf metals such as Gold, aluminum, copper, and silver. Here is a list of computer parts:
- The Case: Steel, Aluminum, or Plastic
- Disk Drives: Has a high grade board.
- Hard Drives: Milled aluminum, stainless steel, and high grade board.
- Motherboards: The main circuit board that hold the CPU, the RAM and the PCIs.
- CPUs: Contains gold connections.
- RAM: Most have gold connectors but some models have tin connections.
- PCIs: These also have gold connections.
- Power Supply: contains a lot of copper wire.
First thing to do would be to open the computer case.
Next is to cut out all the wires.
Once the wires are cleaned out, pull out the CPU and the RAM. The CPU is almost alway covered with a heat sink, usually made of aluminum but some contain copper as well. The CPU has a little lever that needs to be UP for it to come out. The RAM is usually secured with little plastic tabs on their ends.
Then pull out the PCIs. These can usually just get ripped right out of the motherboard. If I just give it a good strong tug, the whole thing will get ripped out in one go.
PCI boards have gold connectors. The gold connectors are cut off and sold separately for a premium!
The next thing I pull from the computer is usually the Motherboard, aka the big board screwed into the case. To liberate the motherboard, grab a trusty screw driver or power drill and take out the screws. Its pretty simple.
This is a simple procedure but scrapping one computer alone may not yield a ton of money. Scrapping computers and computer parts is best when may units are being scrapped together. This usually happens when a business or school cleans out an old storage room or something like that. Be sure to collect all the gold connections from the PCI boards, the processors and the RAM, and sell that separately. Gold obviously commands a premium and it is best not to sell it along with the other metals.