The Fried Motherboard is a rare, technological loot item with very specific uses in ARC Raiders. You need it for upgrading your Workshop, and you’ll often spot it around server racks and computer clusters. It sells for a respectable amount, and while you can break it down for components, there’s a clear trade-off between credits and materials.
Fried Motherboard quick facts
| Property | Details |
|---|---|
| Category | Technological (rare) |
| Source | Scavenging (computers, servers, tech containers) |
| Weight / Stack | 3 kg / stacks to 3 |
| Sell price | 2,000 Raider Coins |
| Recycle (workbench) | 2 × Electrical Components, 5 × Plastic Parts |
| Salvage (strip for basics) | 5 × Wires |
Tip: Recycling during a raid returns fewer components than doing it back in Speranza, so break items down in town whenever possible.
Where to find Fried Motherboards (high‑yield spots)
Fried Motherboards concentrate in technological zones and buildings dense with electronics. Prioritize rooms packed with server racks and office computers; open desk drawers and lockers on the way out.
| Map | Building/Area | What to loot |
|---|---|---|
| Dam Battlegrounds | Research & Admin (upper floors) | Computer clusters, desks, drawers, lockers |
| Buried City | Space Travel building (floors ~4–6) | Banks of PCs and office tech |
| Spaceport | Departure building | Server rooms with multiple racks; side offices |
- Work top‑down. Clear server rooms first, then sweep adjacent offices.
- Server racks and tower PCs are the jackpot; don’t skip smaller containers nearby.
- If another squad is present, pivot to a second tech building to avoid overlap.
What Fried Motherboards are used for (Workshop upgrade)
Fried Motherboards are a key part of upgrading your Utility Station from level 2 to level 3. You’ll also need refined electronics and a boss drop to finish the job.
| Upgrade | Cost (items) |
|---|---|
| Utility Station 2 → Utility Station 3 | 3 × Fried Motherboard, 5 × Advanced Electrical Components, 3 × Leaper Pulse Unit |
Filling the rest of the bill:
- Advanced Electrical Components: Commonly found in Technological loot zones; with Refiner level 2, you can craft them from base parts.
- Leaper Pulse Unit: Drops from Leapers. Lure one to a bunker entrance it can’t path through, apply fire damage (e.g., Blaze Grenade or Fireball Burner) to exploit its weakness, then finish it safely.
Note: Some lists show four Leaper Pulse Units for this upgrade. Requirements can change with patches—check the in‑game Workshop panel before committing your stash.
Sell, recycle, or salvage?
You can convert Fried Motherboards into refined components or strip them to basic wiring. If you care about coins, selling the item intact is worth more than its recycled parts.
| Action | Outcome | Effective value (if sold) | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell | 2,000 Raider Coins | 2,000 | Fast cash; no need for components right now |
| Recycle | 2 × Electrical Components, 5 × Plastic Parts | ~1,580 (640×2 + 60×5) | When you specifically need refined electronics |
| Salvage | 5 × Wires | ~1,000 (200×5) | When wiring is your bottleneck and weight is tight |
If the goal is credits, sell. If you’re pushing gear or hideout tasks that consume Electrical Components, recycling saves you a tech‑area detour. Salvage is the lowest coin value, but it’s a quick way to shore up Wires for mid‑tier crafting.
Loadout and inventory planning
- Plan for weight: Each Fried Motherboard is 3 kg and stacks to 3, so a full stack is 9 kg. Factor that against ammo, grenades, and any bulky topside materials.
- Route for tech density: String together two nearby tech buildings rather than roaming. You’ll see better results in 10–15 minutes than from a whole‑map tour.
- Process in town: Recycle or salvage in Speranza for full component returns; in‑raid processing is strictly a “stash space emergency” move.
Fast checklist (Utility Station III push)
- Farm a tech building with lots of server racks until you secure 3 × Fried Motherboard.
- Gather or craft 5 × Advanced Electrical Components (Refiner II helps).
- Hunt a Leaper and secure 3 × Leaper Pulse Unit using fire and hard cover.
- Head to the Workshop and complete the Utility Station upgrade.
A single Spaceport or Buried City server stack run can yield multiple tech items in minutes. Pair that with a quick Leaper cleanup near Dam Battlegrounds and you can finish the upgrade bill in just a couple of raids.
