I have literally processed (Meaning recovered and refined) hundreds if not thousands of Pentium Pros. There is not even .5 grams per CPU, never, not ever. On average I am able to recover (And by the way, it's a two step process, first you recover the gold, then you refine it. It's not extraction, that is another process where you might use a solvent for example, to extract gold from a dirty, acidic solution) .33 grams. A few times, when I have run individual Pentium Pros, I have recovered and refined .35 grams.
If you have recovered and refined any precious metals, you would understand that it is impossible to put even an average value on computer systems, even if you specify the year. The reason for this is that each computer manufacturer uses different technology to plate gold, and different components made by different manufacturers. High end internal cards may have a higher gold content, better components might have more palladium, gold, silver, etc.
As well, you can only recover as much value from a computer system, as you are skilled at recovering. A really good refiner is going to recover more value than one that is not so good. There are also other processes in which you recover values from waste solution that might not have precipitated at first.
In any case, you would do well not to ask these types of questions on this forum. A better question may perhaps be "what should I pay for full computer systems dating from 2000". I am sure there are experienced people here who might be able to help you in this endeavor.
You would also do well to consider this. Older computer systems, specially that contain CPUs that are more valuable, are very difficult to find in any bulk. And it's in bulk that you might be able to make money. You would do far better if you put away your dreams of riches, recognize that you have gold fever, and look for a real viable way you might make income doing this type of work. Take the suggestions others have made to heart. Refining is certainly not something just anyone should be doing. It does involve acids, gases, processes that are dangerous in the extreme. I have personally known people who were both hobby refiners, and worked in the industry who have experience accidents that could very well have ended up in someone's death. One such example was someone who mixed a particularly explosive solution with specific metals that caused it to explode, violently. If not for the fact that they were taking extra precautions, it very well could have meant their life.
If you have not refined anything, or used chemistry other than high school, you have a very long road ahead of you before you could, or should be recovering or refining anything. Period. I do not say this lightly. You have to educate yourself, a lot, before ever attempting to refine anything. It's not something you just read, and do. You should really ask questions on the Gold Refining Forum. But I warn you, be very careful what questions you ask. Read posts first. Matter of fact, do what is suggested prior to asking any questions. You should understand the terminology prior to posting anything, and even then make sure you know what you are asking before doing so.
Under no circumstance should you attempt to recover any metals, precious or not, from electronic scrap until you are fully aware of what exactly it entails, have educated yourself or sought education at the college level, and even then you should be doing many other things besides prior to ever attempting anything.
It's also a very tough business to be in, if you are doing anything more than hobby refining, or trying to make a business out of refining, you have a lot longer and harder road ahead of you than you might realize. The margins are very difficult to work within first of all, the proper licensing and permitting to do so legally take a lot of time. You must have a proper location, with the correct fume scrubbing, equipment, etc. You will be required to have your installation plans drawn up by an engineer, and it's only specially licensed engineers who can submit the proper paperwork to the EPA, and perhaps your local entities that require special permits. In my area, I had to deal with the Federal EPA, the California EPA and another entity called Bay Area Air Quality. It took me a full 8 months to get the proper permits, and even then I was required to hire an engineer, and a law firm.
And do yourself yet one more favor, ignore the information you find from sourced that are not credible. Many people have spent uncounted sums of money accumulating Pentium Pros while under the belief that there is 1gram of gold per CPU. lb per lb, Pentium Pros are not the best CPUs to process, they just contain some of the highest amounts of gold per CPU. But if we are talking about weight/gold ration, they are certainly not the highest in gold content.
Scott
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