Ceramic CPU — no gold lid (black top)

Ceramic body but the top is black, bare ceramic, or a dull silvery solder-sealed lid rather than yellow. Pins are still gold — that's where the value is.

Au 1.0–1.8 g/lbAg 0.3–1 g/lb

eBay typical$130–250per lb

Refiner pays$88per lb

Metal in it$184per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencehighof the yield figures

How to spot it

Socket 5/7 Pentium, Mac ceramic, AMD ceramic without the aluminium plate. Directly measured at 0.06 g per Pentium 1 across a 30-chip run.

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Gold	1.0–1.8 g/lb	pins + cavity; ~0.06 g per Pentium 1
Silver	0.3–1 g/lb

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $184 per pound of contained metal — Gold 1.4 g = $183, Silver 0.6 g = $1.14. A refiner paying $88 returns about 48% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: Board preheat 250–280 °C

Socket lever or preheat 250–280 °C and pull.

The common trap

Often sold on eBay as "gold cap" because the ceramic looks tan under a phone camera. Gold cap means a yellow metal lid, not a beige body.

Questions

How much gold is in ceramic cpu — no gold lid (black top)?

Gold: 1.0–1.8 g/lb. Silver: 0.3–1 g/lb. At current spot that is about $184 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify ceramic cpu — no gold lid (black top)?

Ceramic body but the top is black, bare ceramic, or a dull silvery solder-sealed lid rather than yellow. Pins are still gold — that's where the value is.

How do you remove ceramic cpu — no gold lid (black top) safely?

Socket lever or preheat 250–280 °C and pull.

Related in Processors

Ceramic CPU — gold lid + gold pins Processors · $500–650/lb Au 2.0–3.5 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbBase Kovar S Pentium Pro Processors · $500–700/lb Au 0.25–0.45 g eachAg trace S AMD ceramic with aluminium top (K6) Processors · $80–150/lb Au 0.7–1.2 g/lbBase Al plate B IBM Multi-Chip / Thermal Conduction Modules Processors · $36–115/lb Au 1–5 g per module ≈ 0.3–0.7 g/lbCu ~48 g/lbBase Mo internal wiring B Plastic CPU with gold pins (P4, Athlon, S370/462/478) Processors · $30–90/lb Au 0.5–1.0 g/lbAg trace–0.3 g/lbCu IHS on P4 B Slot 1 / Slot A cartridge CPU Processors · $60–120/lb Au 0.3–0.75 g/lb wholeAg trace–0.5 g/lb B

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