MICROSCRAPPINGE-waste field guide
Boards · Tier C

Peripheral & network cards

1990s ISA, token-ring and SCSI cards with long thick-plated fingers are the good ones. Modern low-profile gigabit NICs are small and thin-flashed.

Au 0.20–0.50 g/lbAg 0.5–1.5 g/lbCu 15–25%
eBay typical$8–15per lb
Refiner pays$5.25per lb
Metal in it$14.0per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot
Confidencemedof the yield figures

How to spot it

NICs, sound cards, SCSI/RAID/HBA controllers, CD-ROM boards, TV tuners.

Metal content

MetalQuantityNotes
Gold0.20–0.50 g/lbfiber/HBA/server NICs 0.4–0.8
Silver0.5–1.5 g/lb
Copper15–25%

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $14.0 per pound of contained metal — Gold 0.09 g = $11.7, Silver 0.7 g = $1.33, Copper 90 g = $0.96. A refiner paying $5.25 returns about 37% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: Cold

Strip brackets, shear fingers, sell the streams separately.

Hazards

☠ Lead — dust more than fume

NEVER dry sweep or use compressed air on a scrapping bench. HEPA-vac or wet-wipe only.

Before you scrap it

Working Intel X520/X710, HBAs and RAID cards run $20–80. Scrap is $5–8/lb.

Questions

How much gold is in peripheral & network cards?

Gold: 0.20–0.50 g/lb. Silver: 0.5–1.5 g/lb. Copper: 15–25%. At current spot that is about $14.0 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify peripheral & network cards?

1990s ISA, token-ring and SCSI cards with long thick-plated fingers are the good ones. Modern low-profile gigabit NICs are small and thin-flashed.

How do you remove peripheral & network cards safely?

Strip brackets, shear fingers, sell the streams separately.

Is peripheral & network cards worth more working than as scrap?

Working Intel X520/X710, HBAs and RAID cards run $20–80. Scrap is $5–8/lb.

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