bad capacitors?

P

Phimp

Gawd
Joined
Dec 9, 2006
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596
on an nForce4 EVGA mothorboard

cap1.jpg


cap2.jpg


I'm assuming these are just 1500uF 6.3v capacitors.
only two of them on the motherboard seem to be blown
motherboard has been running solid for a few years now but i just noticed these while doing a routine cleaning.

any cause for worry & should I replace them?
 
I just had a motherboard with very similar caps that had done the same thing. and was very unstable , but there were like 8 blown caps on it. I ordered some new caps from Digikey and replaced them, but I haven't had a chance to test it yet,


http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1386814
I know I said it was completely stable in there, but it quickly went downhill after my last post in there.
 
Yes they should be replaced.

looking at just the link you provided

1) dismiss any that are not radial (smd are surface mount devices)
2) go with only 105C temp rating
3) low impedance only.
4) 10mm dia (height seems to not be a concern for those specific caps per your pic)

That leaves only the Nichicons
http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?N=2203862+4294627207+4294741289+4294459839+4294716522

Considering only the ones in stock and using the critera of the lowest impedence is best. (Not the same as low ESR) but still a desirable critera and looking for something recommended for a switching power supply (implies low ESR)... we start looking at the data sheets.

UHM0J152MPD6 we note it is 8mm dia - data sheet says HN series has lower impedance and we have HN's in our list - /Fail

UPW0J152MPD 10mm dia (bigger is better for caps in general) data sheet mentions use in switching power supplies we note that PA series has lower impedance but none in our list. /Possible

UHN0J152MPD6 8mm data sheet says ultra low impedance /Possible winner

UHZ0J152MPM3 Ultra low impedance - lower than HN or HM series so all of them eliminated. 10mm dia 105C raidal leads /top dog so far.

UHM0J152MPD eliminated from consideration HM series

UHZ0J152MPM6 same exact specs as our /top dog but in slightly smaller package (8mm) if the ten mm /top dog will fit go with them (bigger package in general better) but if you need 8mm this would be top dog.


UPJ0J152MPD Low impedance and high reliability- for use with switching power supplies. 105C 5000 hours 10mm x 25mm little taller than others /shrug /new top dog !!!!

UPW0J152MPH 8000 hour Low impedance and high reliability- for use with switching power supplies. 105C 10x20mm /winner.



or

you could have just picked the most expensive radial lead cap that would fit and ended up with the same part LOL.
 
From the picture it appear to be filtering caps, meant to make the input power a bit more clean for subsequent components. If you have been using a good quality PSU with this mainboard it's quite normal that things didn't go all unstable :)
 
BillParrish said:
Yes they should be replaced.

looking at just the link you provided

1) dismiss any that are not radial (smd are surface mount devices)
2) go with only 105C temp rating
3) low impedance only.
4) 10mm dia (height seems to not be a concern for those specific caps per your pic)

That leaves only the Nichicons
http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?N=2203862+4294627207+4294741289+4294459839+4294716522

Considering only the ones in stock and using the critera of the lowest impedence is best. (Not the same as low ESR) but still a desirable critera and looking for something recommended for a switching power supply (implies low ESR)... we start looking at the data sheets.

UHM0J152MPD6 we note it is 8mm dia - data sheet says HN series has lower impedance and we have HN's in our list - /Fail

UPW0J152MPD 10mm dia (bigger is better for caps in general) data sheet mentions use in switching power supplies we note that PA series has lower impedance but none in our list. /Possible

UHN0J152MPD6 8mm data sheet says ultra low impedance /Possible winner

UHZ0J152MPM3 Ultra low impedance - lower than HN or HM series so all of them eliminated. 10mm dia 105C raidal leads /top dog so far.

UHM0J152MPD eliminated from consideration HM series

UHZ0J152MPM6 same exact specs as our /top dog but in slightly smaller package (8mm) if the ten mm /top dog will fit go with them (bigger package in general better) but if you need 8mm this would be top dog.


UPJ0J152MPD Low impedance and high reliability- for use with switching power supplies. 105C 5000 hours 10mm x 25mm little taller than others /shrug /new top dog !!!!

UPW0J152MPH 8000 hour Low impedance and high reliability- for use with switching power supplies. 105C 10x20mm /winner.



or

you could have just picked the most expensive radial lead cap that would fit and ended up with the same part LOL.
Click to expand...

+1 vote for the most helpful post of the week.
thanks :)
comes to about $10 after shipping for 5 of em in case any others decide to crap out on me in the near future.

Elledan said:
From the picture it appear to be filtering caps, meant to make the input power a bit more clean for subsequent components. If you have been using a good quality PSU with this mainboard it's quite normal that things didn't go all unstable :)
Click to expand...
I was experiencing random shutdowns, but turns out that was due to not having cleaned my stock HSF in close to 2 years. temps dropped from high 70's (c) to high 30's under load just after giving everything a good cleaning and reapplying some AS5. :p I really need to start monitoring these type of things
Could it also be that the PSU isn't a good quality one and that's what lead the caps to blow to begin with?
But ya, either way, I've been looking for a reason to upgrade to the newest tech, but haven't had much of a reason... about half of me hopes to see smoke coming from my computer case one day. :rolleyes:
 
Phimp said:
+1 vote for the most helpful post of the week.
thanks :)
comes to about $10 after shipping for 5 of em in case any others decide to crap out on me in the near future.


I was experiencing random shutdowns, but turns out that was due to not having cleaned my stock HSF in close to 2 years. temps dropped from high 70's (c) to high 30's under load just after giving everything a good cleaning and reapplying some AS5. :p I really need to start monitoring these type of things
Could it also be that the PSU isn't a good quality one and that's what lead the caps to blow to begin with?
But ya, either way, I've been looking for a reason to upgrade to the newest tech, but haven't had much of a reason... about half of me hopes to see smoke coming from my computer case one day. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

They're just shitty caps to begin with.
 
It could be poor caps, poor circuit design (underrated caps to save some $$ and hope they outlast the warranty), or a lot of other factors. Having a scorching, 70C CPU next to them may not have contributed much to their longevity. It's really hard to say what really caused them to let out the magic smoke like this :)

The fact that your system kept running all the time and no other parts have died (yet), it seems like the PSU isn't at fault at least.
 
those are some bad caps! should have gotten a gigabyte with solids.
 
Yeah, solid caps on mainboards (well, more than an odd one) is quite a recent trend. At least on regular consumer boards it's something from the past year or so.
 
Used to be a dude on the web that would bag up all the caps a Mboard would need to replace or repair a particular brand. This was a BIG problem a few years ago...
 
Is the board one of the ones that has a lifetime warranty from EVGA? If it is, then instead of doing it yourself, just RMA it and let EVGA takes care of it.
 
Wow, I thought bad caps were a thing of the past... This is a new one for me.
 
Damn, would you believe I comment to a post regarding bad caps and you guessed I go to school (I teach Auto Shop) and start using an old AMD 1.5 Ghz on a Soyo Black Dragon MB. As I upgrade at home my old stuff usually ends up at school. What ya know, I was using the box to run an Auto Enginuity program and we were testing 02 sensors on students auto's. Been using it all afternoon, my evening class shows up and we start the same with them. As I finished the first demo I turned around and its shuts down. Someone says "did you step on the power strip" no way. Then I noticed the monitor light was still on went to restart and NADA. So I takes the box home and there it is total of three caps are bulging and one has split and had spit. Installed another MB a Soyo Silver Dragon but no start. The Freakin PS an Enermax was bad, popped it open and guess what 2 bad caps. Sheeeeit, replaced the PS and now all is well. That'll teach me to make any comment about anything anymore........:eek: Try www.badcaps.com
 
They're popped. They need to go before they die and possibly take something else out with them. RMA if under warranty or get a new board, unless of couse you've got right proper skills. If you're replacing, get the best caps available. Caps are cheap, even the good ones, unless you're talking some sort of really large or specialty cap. I doubt you'll run into something like that on a mobo. Mobo/card manufacturers use the cheap ones to pick up a few cents profit per unit, but if you're going to bother fixing it just use the best. Shipping will be more than the parts unless maybe you use parcel post.
While I'm at it, I'll plug a former employer, www.newark.com, and their big enemy, www.digikey.com, which happened to have a habit of kicking Newark's ass at least until I quit in summer '06. Either of those sites will have a large selection of caps.
 
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