TPU's Nostalgic Hardware Club

[Trekkie4]

So, like I said earlier... Plenty of updates!

The front panel was entirely disassembled & washed inside the dishwasher. Funny, in all the years I've had this computer, I never got to see the case in this state before...


Then I did the same thing with the motherboard. First I removed the CPU, followed by the RAM module & Slot 1 rails.


Now, onto the caps... If you look closer, you will probably notice that the board uses different capacitors. And that's because I already had an incident with this particular board once before (around 2007, 2008, right after I removed the board from its original case) when the entire system stopped working. In fact, a large portion of the board lost power, while the "upper" half (CPU, CPU fan & probably the RAM) remained powered up, resulting with random alarms & system not POSTing, obviously. So back then I had it professionally patched up, although it would seem that the guy only replaced SOME of the capacitors, and not all of them. So now, 12-13 years later the remaining group of capacitors bulged up and the history is about to repeat itself once again.


And we can't allow that to happen, can we? I already removed the old caps & am about to solder the new ones in place. Probably tomorrow, although I might decide to postpone this until the next week since there's nothing else I can do to in the meantime. I don't have the case, I STILL don't have the CD-ROM drive, and I don't have a matching 15" CRT.

 

[lexluthermiester]

And we can't allow that to happen, can we? I already removed the old caps & am about to solder the new ones in place.

I was about to suggest replacing them all just to be safe, but it looks like you have that idea down.

 

[Trekkie4]

I was about to suggest replacing them all just to be safe, but it looks like you have that idea down.

Exactly, I don't want to mess around with replacing the caps any time soon. The only "problem" is that the new, replacement caps are slightly wider than the older ones, so it will be a tight fit squeezing them all in. I was going to solder them all in place tonight, but decided to postpone this until tomorrow, so I might ask if they have any other 6.3V/1000uf capacitors in stock, which would be smaller & more appropriate for this application.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Exactly, I don't want to mess around with replacing the caps any time soon. The only "problem" is that the new, replacement caps are slightly wider than the older ones, so it will be a tight fit squeezing them all in. I was going to solder them all in place tonight, but decided to postpone this until tomorrow, so I might ask if they have any other 6.3V/1000uf capacitors in stock, which would be smaller & more appropriate for this application.

You may wish to consider solid state caps. They're a bit more pricey, but they'll outlive you.

 

[Trekkie4]

You may wish to consider solid state caps. They're a bit more pricey, but they'll outlive you.

Hmm... Alright, you got my attention

Technically I could (regardless of the cost, at the moment I can afford those), but I was under the impression that the solid state capacitors are not interchangeable with classic electrolytic ones... Are you sure that the board would work OK?

 

[biffzinker]

Planning to post some of the pics later on, if you guys are interested?

Heck yeah, post those pics please? Yes, I'm interested in the on going progress.

 

[Jetster]

Finally got this together, next load some games

 

[Trekkie4]

Heck yeah, post those pics please? Yes, I'm interested in the on going progress.

Already have, will post more once I recap that 6BTM board & then once again, when I get the case back.

Anyhow, here's one additional pic for you ... all the stuff which I pulled out from that Adison system.


That Pentium II processor, SoundBlaster128 card & Quantum Fireball hard drive are all original. As in my own, from back in a day. The rest of the hardware however was replaced with identical counterparts (ATI Rage IIc AGP, Diamond Monster 3DII, 12MB, 64MB PC100 RAM)

 

[lexluthermiester]

Hmm... Alright, you got my attention

Technically I could (regardless of the cost, at the moment I can afford those), but I was under the impression that the solid state capacitors are not interchangeable with classic electrolytic ones... Are you sure that the board would work OK?

As long as the ratings are the same(or within reasonable spec), they should be interchangeable.

For example, a 16v cap will work in place of a 6v unit as you can always use a higher voltage cap in place of a lower voltage cap, but NEVER the other way around. Also, a higher rated unit can generally be used in place of a lower one(2000uf in place of a 1000uf), but again never the other way around.

 

[Trekkie4]

As long as the ratings are the same(or within reasonable spec), they should be interchangeable.

For example, a 16v cap will work in place of a 6v unit as you can always use a higher voltage cap in place of a lower voltage cap, but NEVER the other way around. Also, a higher rated unit can generally be used in place of a lower one(2000uf in place of a 1000uf), but again never the other way around.

Right, I understand that. But my question was aimed towards using polymer (solid) capacitors in place where the original ones were electrolytic, does it make any difference to the voltages & therefore motherboard itself?

Spec-wise, I would rather keep the original values if possible - 6.3V & 1000uf.

 

[Dinnercore]

Caps do not really 'hand out' the rated voltage. They are just kinda like large silos, storing the energy they get fed. So if you place a 20V rated cap but charge it in a 3V circuit, it will only charge up to that 3V. Like @lexluthermiester said you can use higher voltage rated ones and they should work. In fact its a good practice to choose the rating a bit higher then your supply voltage for tolerances. But don't go too far, no need to get 75V rated ones for a mainboard... Capacity would ideally be matched as close as possible, where impossible use a slightly higher capacity.

The difference between electrolytics and solid caps shows in longevity, environmental tolerances and ESR values. So you can interchange them, only theoretical issue could be a different ESR rating. As the original circuit was designed and specced to tolerances with the elco caps. Since you will probably improve that by changing to solid caps it should not be an issue. There will always be the 0.0001% of cases where improving things too much can actually cause trouble but from what I heard on recapping mainboards this will not be such a case.

Take this with a grain of salt, as I myself have little experience with this topic but I think there are a few people on this board who have had great success with using solid caps as replacements by sticking to the rules @lexluthermiester mentioned.

If it works out you will also have the great benefit of never having to touch that board again for recapping. The solid caps will outlast elcos by a big margin (if quality parts are chosen).

 

[lexluthermiester]

Right, I understand that. But my question was aimed towards using polymer (solid) capacitors in place where the original ones were electrolytic, does it make any difference to the voltages & therefore motherboard itself?

As mentioned by @Dinnercore, caps are just energy tanks and they put out what they're given, as general rule. As long as you stay at or close to specs(perhaps a little higher) you'll be fine.

 

[Trekkie4]

As mentioned by @Dinnercore, caps are just energy tanks and they put out what they're given, as general rule. As long as you stay at or close to specs(perhaps a little higher) you'll be fine.

Thanks for the info!

Unfortunately, couldn't find the solid (polymer) caps at the store, so I went with electrolytic (Panasonic) ones instead. I could theoretically buy them online from China (something like THIS for example), however by the time I actually receive them the whole Adison system will be long finished ... hopefully!

Will post more pics once I have them soldered in place!

Edit
Not exactly "factory" quality, but I suppose good enough...

 

[Mr.Scott]

Not exactly "factory" quality, but I suppose good enough...

You're a little lean on the heat and quantity of solder.

 

[Trekkie4]

You're a little lean on the heat and quantity of solder.

Do you think I should "touch" them all up, at higher temp? I used to put more solder way back, that would often result with large blobs which often seem too messy or unprofessional. What I was aiming for was factory look, which (obviously) can't be done with amateur grade soldering iron.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Do you think I should "touch" them all up, at higher temp? I used to put more solder way back, that would often result with large blobs which often seem too messy or unprofessional. What I was aiming for was factory look, which (obviously) can't be done with amateur grade soldering iron.

No. If the board works no problem, don't mess with it.
I was just commenting on it for the next time.

 

[Trekkie4]

No. If the board works no problem, don't mess with it.
I was just commenting on it for the next time.

OK, thanks! I did a continuity sweep across the terminals using digital meter and they all seem to check out (no shorts, and the polarity orientation looks fine) Obviously, I won't know for sure until I hook it back up, which could take a while.

 

[lexluthermiester]

so I went with electrolytic (Panasonic) ones instead.

Those are still very solid quality. Panasonic caps last a long time(3 to 4 decades).

Not exactly "factory" quality, but I suppose good enough...

Looks good to me. It looks like you needed to use a bit more flux(always be generous with flux), and as Scotty stated above, a bit more heat, but otherwise I can't see anything that would indicate you would encounter any issues.

 

[Trekkie4]

Time for another update. THESE are the caps used on Chaintech board, model number is Panasonic EEU-FR0J102

Meanwhile, I took the liberty of taking apart & cleaning that Pentium II SECC cartridge. There's plenty of "Intel" dust inside this thing, that's been stuck in there since my childhood & elementary school, so now it's probably the best time to clean it up

Before...


... and after

 

[Dinnercore]

I build another system based on the DFI JR P45-T2RS and stuffed it in my first PCs case. (This is the case: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/thermaltake-matrix-vx/)

But before I did that, I prepared a few things. Mainly I attached a bunch of small heatsinks all over various parts on the board.



Can you spot them all?

I don't think any of these will have a real world benefit but I had them around and wanted to do something with them. CPU is lapped and I got a Zalman CNPS9900 LED for it.

 

[Caring1]

I build another system based on the DFI JR P45-T2RS and stuffed it in my first PCs case. (This is the case: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/thermaltake-matrix-vx/)

I attached a bunch of small heatsinks all over various parts on the board.


Can you spot them all?

17 of them?

 

[Bungz]

The FR Series Panasonics are my usual go to for motherboards.

They are very high quality caps I have no doubt they will outlast the other components on the board in most cases of refurbishment which is why I have never bothered poly modding as I believe as mentioned above the low ESR can cause problems in some boards.

Had a bit of a score myself this weekend.


Someone was selling a beige special with a awful photo and no details.

My spidey senses told me that was a Abit KT7A and a voodoo 3 2000.....

I was right

No blown caps to be found so have left as it is currently, oiled all fans and cleaned everything out. Works lovely!

Only thing I changed was the heatsink, I don't like the single clamp style sinks for Socket A stuff pref the ones that clamp all 3 lugs.

Not had much time to mess but windows 2000 and UT99 bobbed along quite nicely as a test.

 

[Trekkie4]

The FR Series Panasonics are my usual go to for motherboards.

They are very high quality caps I have no doubt they will outlast the other components on the board in most cases of refurbishment which is why I have never bothered poly modding as I believe as mentioned above the low ESR can cause problems in some boards.

Had a bit of a score myself this weekend.


Someone was selling a beige special with a awful photo and no details.

View attachment 175007

My spidey senses told me that was a Abit KT7A and a voodoo 3 2000.....

View attachment 175013

View attachment 175012
View attachment 175010

View attachment 175011

I was right

No blown caps to be found so have left as it is currently, oiled all fans and cleaned everything out. Works lovely!

Only thing I changed was the heatsink, I don't like the single clamp style sinks for Socket A stuff pref the ones that clamp all 3 lugs.

Not had much time to mess but windows 2000 and UT99 bobbed along quite nicely as a test.

View attachment 175008

That "ASYNC" power supply is actually a re-branded "Codegen". I used to have those in my old rigs, including previously-mentioned PII Adison. Some folks would probably say that it's cheap, low-budget PSU that's better to avoid in the long run, but I honestly can't say anything bad. It's not great, there's a ton of room for improvement but I've seen worse ... MUCH worse!

Edit

 

[Bungz]

Yes I think I have come across codegen before, may have one or more in the loft!

Looks a half decent design, be reasonable for a 5V system like this though wouldn't use it for P4 stuff.

 

[Mr Bill]

I have a question I've been wanting to ask, hopefully I'm in the correct zone. I have the Asus P6T Deluxe V2 board, it only suppose to be able to use 24 gig of ram, of course I did update the bios due to wanting to use the 5670 Xeon, not sure I had to, but I did. Question is, I now have 28 gig of ram installed, and it see's it in the bios and in the OS, and seems to be working fine. I never tried using the 28 gig with the older bios version, so I'm not sure the bios update had anything to do with it or not, I'm wondering what the ram limit is now? Ok, I just looked, it appears this is a picture forum, I can delete this post, where do I need to post this question? Thanks Bill