CPU socket (ZIF PGA / LGA)

Shine a light across the contact field. A distinct gold shimmer means plated contacts worth pulling. Older ZIF (Socket 7/370/A) and high-pin-count server LGAs (1366, 2011, 3647 — up to 4000+ contacts) carry the most area.

Au 0.10–0.30 g/lb wholeBase phosphor bronze

eBay typical$15–35per lb

Refiner pays$11per lb

Metal in it$19.7per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencelowof the yield figures

How to spot it

ZIF: beige/black plastic square with a side lever and a grid of holes. LGA: shallow frame full of tiny gold spring fingers with a load plate.

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Gold	0.10–0.30 g/lb whole	0.5–1.2 g/lb for stripped contacts
Base metal	phosphor bronze, BeCu

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $19.7 per pound of contained metal — Gold 0.15 g = $19.6, Silver 0.05 g = $0.095. A refiner paying $11 returns about 56% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: Hot air 350–400 °C / preheat 250–280 °C

LGA sockets are surface-mount — preheat the board and hot-air at 350–400 °C, then lift. PGA ZIF sockets are through-hole — preheat to 250–280 °C and pull straight up.

The common trap

The plastic body is most of the weight. LGA775/115x/1200 contacts are gold flash under 3 µin, far leaner than Socket 370/462 leaf contacts.

Questions

How much gold is in cpu socket (zif pga / lga)?

Gold: 0.10–0.30 g/lb whole. At current spot that is about $19.7 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify cpu socket (zif pga / lga)?

Shine a light across the contact field. A distinct gold shimmer means plated contacts worth pulling. Older ZIF (Socket 7/370/A) and high-pin-count server LGAs (1366, 2011, 3647 — up to 4000+ contacts) carry the most area.

How do you remove cpu socket (zif pga / lga) safely?

LGA sockets are surface-mount — preheat the board and hot-air at 350–400 °C, then lift. PGA ZIF sockets are through-hole — preheat to 250–280 °C and pull straight up.

Related in Connectors & pins

Gold fingers (trimmed) Connectors & pins · $225–290/lb Au 2.0–3.0 g/lbBase Cu S Gold-fingered RAM Connectors & pins · $55–76/lb Au 0.3–0.6 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbPd 0.01–0.05 g/lb A Gold-plated connectors Connectors & pins · $113–136/lb Au 0.3–1.0 g/lb wholeBase brass A Gold-plated pins Connectors & pins · $180–280/lb Au 0.7–1.5 g/lb mixedBase brass A RF Coaxial Connectors (SMA/N/BNC/TNC) Connectors & pins · $15–35/lb Au 0.10–0.40 g/lb (SMA); 0.01–0.05 g/lb (N/BNC)Cu ~190 g/lbAg trace B Silver-Plated Copper Wire & Coax Connectors & pins · $8–25/lb Ag 2.8–6.8 g/lb as-received; 5.7–11.3 g/lb stripped conductorCu ~230 g/lbBase 40–55% PTFE/FEP B

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