GPU (GPU)
Also known as: GPUs · Graphics Processing Unit · graphics card · video card
Graphics Processing Unit — a specialised processor chip designed for parallel computation, primarily used in computer graphics and AI workloads. GPUs are a dense e-waste source of gold, copper, and rare earth elements, making them high-value items in data-centre decommissioning.
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What is GPU?
GPU stands for graphics processing unit, a specialised processor chip optimised for massively parallel computation. Originally designed to render 3D graphics for gaming and computer-aided design, GPUs now dominate workloads in artificial intelligence training, cryptocurrency mining (until India's regulatory clampdown), scientific simulation, and high-end engineering. The Indian e-waste stream now sees substantial GPU volumes from data-centre upgrades, gaming-PC turnover, and the wave of decommissioned cryptomining hardware after the 2022-2023 price crash.
Construction and material density: A modern discrete GPU card weighs 600-1,500 grams, comprising a large multilayer PCB (typically 8-16 copper layers carrying tens of thousands of vias), a single high-end GPU die in a BGA package containing several billion transistors, 8-24 GB of GDDR6 or HBM memory chips, a vapour-chamber heatsink or large aluminium-copper hybrid sink, dual or triple cooling fans, and a steel backplate. The PCB and GPU die together carry gold, palladium, and silver concentrations roughly 1.5-2 times higher than typical motherboard PCB — yielding 400-600 grams of gold per tonne of clean GPU PCB scrap.
Where the recovery value sits: A single high-end gaming or AI GPU card contains an estimated Rs 1,800-3,500 of recoverable precious metal (gold, silver, palladium) and Rs 200-400 of copper and aluminium. The vapour chamber alone is a high-purity copper component worth Rs 350-500 per kg. Server-grade GPUs designed for AI workloads (e.g., decommissioned data-centre cards) carry the highest unit value because their PCBs and packages are larger and more metal-dense.
Trade-offs and second-life market: Functional GPUs have a substantial secondary market in India for gaming, video editing, and entry-level AI development — used GPU cards sell at 30-60% of their original retail price for years after manufacture. A formal e-waste plant maximises recovery by test-bench-grading every incoming GPU, reselling functional cards directly, and routing only failed or obsolete units to bulk PCB recovery. This raises gross revenue per GPU by Rs 2,000-8,000 over destructive recycling, at a cost of 5-10 minutes of trained test labour per card.
Common questions about GPU
Plain-English answers to what people most often ask.
What is the full form of GPU?
Are GPUs more valuable than CPUs for e-waste recycling?
What metals are recovered from GPU recycling?
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