# Re-capping Biostar N4SLI-A9



## Vario (Aug 24, 2014)

I got my old Biostar board back from my friend.  It has a few blown and leaking capacitors.  I have identified the following capacitors as worth replacing

3x 16v 1500uf 105*C Nippon NCC KZG / case size: 10x20 / impedence: 0.013 / ripple: 2,550
5x 6.3v 3300uf 105*C Nippon NCC KZG / case size: 10x25 / impedence: .012 / ripple: 2,800
8x 6.3v 1000uf 105*C OST RLP / case size: 8x12 / impedence: .013 ripple  555

Not all of these are blown but there are a few bulging and/or leaking capacitors from each of these so probably best to do them all eventually.  I'll do the obviously damaged ones first and see if it starts up.

I think these specs are correct, I used the engineering sheets for KZG and RLP caps and looked for the case size, uf and voltage ratings to find impedence and ripple, since there wasn't a specific part number.


I'll document with pics since this is a first time thing for me.  Wasn't sure if I should post here or in the motherboard subforum.


Update:
So I have identified possible replacements
UHMC152MPD-ND for the 16v 1500uf http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/UHM1C152MPD/UHM1C152MPD-ND/2428113
UHM0J332MPD for the 6.3v 3300uf http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/UHM0J332MPD/UHM0J332MPD-ND/2428120

Still having difficulty with identifying suitable replacements for the OST RLP


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## Vario (Aug 24, 2014)

Here is my favorite chip, Opty 144 that can do over 2.7, more with bios mod (and it has the worst stepping, making it even more gold)





This ram seemed to overclock pretty well given I didn't know what I was doing 




I got the board cleaned up




Here are some of the dead capacitors


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## natr0n (Aug 24, 2014)

Ebay has all the caps you need if you cant find them elsewhere.


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## Vario (Aug 24, 2014)

natr0n said:


> Ebay has all the caps you need if you cant find them elsewhere.


I am concerned about buying caps from the exploding cap scandal era or caps that are counterfeits


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## jsfitz54 (Aug 24, 2014)

Digi-Key has been the best source for me.  When you do the drill down, make sure you select in stock options.  Be mindful of cap height and hole spacing.  Often you can replace with longer lifespan parts... better than OEM, such as 5000 hour or 7000 hour.

If your having trouble with identification, email or call them.  Great service.

Be sure to use desoldering wick:  http://www.digikey.com/product-sear...products/desoldering-braid-wick-pumps/1311239


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## TRWOV (Aug 24, 2014)

http://badcaps.net/  should have all the caps you'd need plus information and tutorials.


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## TheGoat Eater (Aug 25, 2014)

The real question for us to be able to help you locate a good dealer is... "Where are you from Vario?" <- because I can't tell if you are a US resident - if yes then digi-key would be great as jsfitz54 said


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## Ferrum Master (Aug 25, 2014)

Buy an ESR meter on the same ebay... and throw your worries away... Ebay indeed is full of bad caps, they may not be that bad but most often 85C are relabeled as 105C and that's critical in longer exploitation process.


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## Vario (Aug 25, 2014)

I am from USA, ordered some caps from digikey today:
UHM1A102MPD9 1000uF 10v 18mOhm 1.87A
UHM1C152MPD 1500uF 16v 13mOhm 2.55A
UHM0J332MPD 3300uF 6.3v 12mOhm 2.8A


Looking at my spare parts, sadly my EVGA 9800 GT Akimbo 1GB doesn't fit the top PCI-E slot because of the location of the 6 port audio outputs, the backplate contacts this. I would rather not take apart the backplate.

If I run the bottom PCI-E slot I am limited to x8, think I will notice a difference?  9800GT is 3 years newer than the motherboard anyway.

Going to throw all this stuff in my Antec 300v2 and slap a ton of 120x38 fans everywhere.  I have an Asetek 120mm AIO that I will use on the opteron.

Probably use either my Corsair CX430, I think as a rough guideline for this:
bunch of fans: 20-30 watts
processor+mobo+ram 130 watts
videocard: 110 watts
1 hdd: 10 watts

so probably under 300 watts for the whole system easily.

idk what I will even do with this computer besides benchmark the opteron.


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## larrymoencurly (Aug 28, 2014)

Ferrum Master said:


> Buy an ESR meter on the same ebay... and throw your worries away... Ebay indeed is full of bad caps, they may not be that bad but most often 85C are relabeled as 105C and that's critical in longer exploitation process.


Before recapping my old Antec SmartPowers that were full of awful Fuhjyyu caps, I measured the ESR of the caps that looked OK, and I replaced only those that looked bad or had high ESR.  Then 2-4 weeks later, some of the remaining original caps bulged.    My point is that if one cap of a certain brand or model measures bad or leaks, replace all of them, especially if they're a low quality brand.  BTW all of my failed caps were rated for 105C, so a high temperature rating isn't enough.

Apparently the only trustworthy Ebay capacitor dealer is the PC Motherboard Capacitor Store.

Digi-Key, Mouser, B&D Enterprises, and BadCaps.net are all good suppliers.  Digi-Key can be the cheapest of these for small quantities (no more than 8 ounces) because they ship them via US Post Office.  BadCaps.net may be the only source for tall, really skinny caps (Samxon brand) that are sometimes the only ones that will fit inside power supplies.  

If the motherboard at least kind of works, I first replace only some of the obviously bad caps and then test before proceeding further.  If it works, I replace a few more, test, and repeat until done.  That way it's easier to pinpoint any mistakes because the first time I tried recapping, I replaced everything at once, and the motherboard wouldn't boot, and it took me quite a while to find a tiny solder bridge.


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## xLDKx NewYorker (Aug 30, 2014)

Vario said:


> I got my old Biostar board back from my friend.  It has a few blown and leaking capacitors.  I have identified the following capacitors as worth replacing
> 
> 3x 16v 1500uf 105*C Nippon NCC KZG / case size: 10x20 / impedence: 0.013 / ripple: 2,550
> 5x 6.3v 3300uf 105*C Nippon NCC KZG / case size: 10x25 / impedence: .012 / ripple: 2,800
> ...


Before buying parts, check out any spare MoBo's you have for parts > desolder- test -  resolder
I am that guy that's gonna die from leaving one of his PC's plugged in


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## micropage7 (Aug 30, 2014)

if you look closer, theres empty caps near vrm and ram slot. i suggest you fill it too
maybe you wanna take a look at 
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/msi-pm8m3-v-recap.190064/#post-2972544


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## newtekie1 (Aug 30, 2014)

micropage7 said:


> if you look closer, theres empty caps near vrm and ram slot. i suggest you fill it too



It wouldn't do anything because there are other components missing from the circuits those caps would be in.  Those circuits are dead, so the caps would go totally unused.


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## Ferrum Master (Aug 31, 2014)

micropage7 said:


> if you look closer, theres empty caps near vrm and ram slot. i suggest you fill it too
> maybe you wanna take a look at
> http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/msi-pm8m3-v-recap.190064/#post-2972544



don't overdo it... those blank places are meant for less capacitance... placing too much caps may cause start up blow up as the initial charge takes some serious load.


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## Vario (Sep 1, 2014)

Thanks was curious about that as others were telling me the same thing.

I have the capacitors but I am still waiting on the solder wick, flux, and higher quality and thinner solder than what I have now.


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## Vario (Sep 4, 2014)

I am having difficulty getting the solder from the motherboard to melt.  The iron I am using is a Weller 40 watt.  I tried using the solder wick but I am not even melting the component's solder.  The wick wicks in my tinned tip but ignores the components.

For curiousity I ended up cutting off the damaged capacitor so I could look at both sides, and sure enough the solder doesn't melt and flow at all with my iron.

Should I buy a different iron and what type would you guys recommend?

Thanks.

edit: is the board solder "lead free"? is that why I can't melt it.  And my tip is shiny, clean, tinned. Solder is Kester 44. I am using the medium sized chisel tip.


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## McSteel (Sep 4, 2014)

Old stale lead-free tin is a PITA to melt, nigh impossible (hate the RoHS directive...). Just add your own leaded solder to the component leads, and gently wiggle the iron tip so that the new solder melts and mixes with the old one. Alternatively, you can carefully move the component itself in line with the leads (so that you rock it from one lead to another), that helps the old and new tin mix too. Also, using nitrate-based ammonium-chloride flux helps immensely, as that significantly increases the wetting coefficient and decreases the melting temperature of lead-free tin, while also reducing it. Just make sure to wipe the excess off with a cotton pad lightly dipped in ethyl alcohol afterwards. You'll notice your solder joints will appear nice and shiny as a result (meaning they're not oxidized).

## EDIT ##
Corrected a brain fart.


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## Vario (Sep 4, 2014)

McSteel said:


> Old stale lead-free tin is a PITA to melt, nigh impossible (hate the RoHS directive...). Just add your own leaded solder to the component leads, and gently wiggle the iron tip so that the new solder melts and mixes with the old one. Alternatively, you can carefully move the component itself in line with the leads (so that you rock it from one lead to another), that helps the old and new tin mix too. Also, using nitrate-based flux helps immensely, as that significantly increases the wetting coefficient and decreases the melting temperature of lead-free tin, while also reducing it. Just make sure to wipe the excess off with a cotton pad lightly dipped in ethyl alcohol afterwards. You'll notice your solder joints will appear nice and shiny as a result (meaning they're not oxidized).


I tried similar tricks already without much luck.  Also tried a large chisel tip to see if it would help with heat transfer.

Interestingly I bought two kinds of flux, a generic white flux with lead in it, and a standard liquid bronze colored flux with a resinous smell.

The white flux corroded and altered two of my tips.  I tried initially dipping the hot tip into the resin to try and clean them, the tips haven't been the same since.  I was wondering why the Kester 44 and my alphafry oxidized immediately on these tips to a dull purple blue, I switched to a different tip, didn't use the white flux, and the tinning is normal, shiny metal, looks good.  Guess I have to sand these other two tips down, even my brass sponge isn't changing them.

edit: also the white flux claimed to be for electronics not plumbing.

edit2: light sanding with a high grit sanding sponge and then cleaning the tip with isopropyl, then I retinned them and they work normally, guess that white flux really sucks for this... I'll try doing your suggestions above again after I take a break, and I'll use the liquid flux which seems to work MUCH better.


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## Ferrum Master (Sep 4, 2014)

I use a preheater oven or a heat gun... well I guess for those jobs such things are essential...


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## Vario (Sep 4, 2014)

I have a heat gun, would I aim it at the solder for awhile?  The board isn't worth paying someone to repair and I have decided I want to improve my skills, so I might as well keep going.

I attempted almost every trick (except using a new component) that Mcsteel mentioned to the best of my ability (which isn't much but gotta start somewhere) and no luck sadly.  Not sure if my flux is nitrate based, it is MG Chemicals Rosin Flux.

I got more of the solder wicked up from the joint but its going so slow the odds are I will damage the surrounding areas.  Still haven't burned pcb or damaged any other components, though the solder wick has stuck to a few of the solder lines on the back (lands?) and made a mess, that I can clean up easily with rosin flux + solder tip thanks to the stock solder not sticking to my iron but the new solder sticking.


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## McSteel (Sep 4, 2014)

Sorry, I actually made myself look stupid in that post (corrected now). That should teach me not to post while dead-tired. Anyway, a nice ammonium-chloride flux (either in parafine wax or an inorganic gel form, should be dark amber to brown in color) does wonders for stubborn joints, but it is mildly to very corrosive so needs a thorough cleaning after. The MG flux you have is a rosin-based mildly-active non-halide activated variety, which should have some ok wetting properties but probably not too much reduction potential. It's non-corrosive, so you don't have to worry about overusing or improperly cleaning it, though.


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## Vario (Sep 5, 2014)

Thank you for the information.  The other flux i have is Miniatronics Brand Rosin Paste Flux #10-650-02, its a white paste.  Really nasty stuff.  I don't know if I will use it anymore.


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## larrymoencurly (Oct 1, 2014)

Do NOT use a soldering gun!  It will overheat the board and cause copper traces to come off.  

A heat gun is risky unless you can adjust its temperature.  You can burn off your skin with one.

You need a soldering iron, preferrably a temperature regulated (temperature controlled) one, but a regular 40W iron will usually work, provided you first fill the joints with regular leaded solder (63% tin, 37% lead is best, 60% tin, 40% lead is also good) to lower the melting point.  The best soldering iron tip is about 2-3mm wide and chisel shaped, not conical, because it will transfer more heat to the joint.  Also you need to practice on junk circuit boards that have at least 4 layers of copper.  There's a guide to desoldering caps in the FAQs or forums of BadCaps.net.  The safest way to remove the caps may be by cutting them off on top so you can remove each lead individually.   Clear the solder holes with a stainless steel dental pick.


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## OneMoar (Oct 2, 2014)

40W is way hot for fine work(unless you are a master at soldering) a 10 or 15W is preferable also a larry said use 63/37 solder


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## larrymoencurly (Nov 20, 2014)

OneMoar said:


> 40W is way hot for fine work(unless you are a master at soldering) a 10 or 15W is preferable also a larry said use 63/37 solder


10W - 15W is right for soldering surface mount parts, but for capacitors with leads that go all the way through holes in the circuit board, it's way too little power to melt the solder completely and quickly, and beginners are more likely to cause heat damage with an underpowered iron because they apply the heat way for too long because the solder never melts completely, destroying the glue holding the copper traces to the fiberglass circuit board material.  Also when solder doesn't liquify 100%, pulling out a capacitor is much more likely to pull out a copper trace as well.  40W is about right for desoldering circuit boards that have at least 2 layers of copper, but I'd much rather use a temperature-controlled iron rated for at least 50W, 70W for lead-free solder.  However without temperature regulation, that much power will easily destroy circuit boards.


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