Honestly, you would have to ask Barren. I know for a fact, beyond a doubt, without any reservations that the Pentium Pro's only yield on average .33 grams of Au. This is a fairly well known fact on GRF. All you have to do is google Pentium Pro Gold Refining Forum to come up with a huge number of posts on the subject. It's one of the most sought after, and misrepresented material that individual refiners deal with. They are almost mythical. People see that huge CPU with the huge gold plated heat spreader and loose all reason. They regularly sell on ebay for far more than their actual value. Matter of fact, if you pay attention to the CPUs on ebay, you will notice the same pictures of the same CPUs being sold by different people. They are used as a commodity really.
Imagine this, buying gold coins or bars on ebay is a very iffy proposition. Some people will drill, and fill with lead and/or tungsten to approximate the same density/weight that gold has. However, it's very difficult to fake a CPU. And the value is perceived where a gold bar or coin is not a perceived value, but exact, or at least as close as you can get. Because of these reasons, people buy and sell them as the price of gold goes up or down. They are traded back and forth like a commodity. So the actual value is far different.
To be honest, I am not so sure Barren is refining any of the CPUs he's buying, I would suspect, because of posts made by him on GRF and conversations I have had with other refiners and customers that Barren is selling them on ebay, and not refining them. However, I only suspect and to be fair to Barren, I don't actually know what he is doing with the CPUs. I can tell you this however, at $17 each, he's not refining them and making any money. I know that for a fact and would stake my reputation as a Man, as a refiner and as a human being on that statement, without any reservation whatsoever.
If done correctly, and you are able to purchase your consumables at decent prices, meaning you have to have a business license and purchase acids in 55 gallon drums, you can probably work the cost per CPU below .50 cents.
Scott
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