Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

[mikay786]

Hi guys, whilst I'm confident that the caps are bad I just wanted to double check and would also like to know if it possible these caps are causing the issues with the motherboard.

It's a bit strange the behaviour but I have nailed it down to the motherboard after some experimenting.

For some reason the motherboard stock setting is only setting the CPU Voltage to 1.2v when the VID and stock Volts for the CPU should be 1.25V (QX9650). Also some of the other voltages set by the motherboard automatically seem a bit low when I compare to others online using the same CPU and board.

• When using 1 Module of Ram and 1.2v CPU Core (auto set by motherboard) the system appears to run fine.
  
• When using 4 Modules of RAM and 1.2v CPU Core (auto set by motherboard) the system will crash often and get stuck in the Windows load up.
  
• When using 4 Modules of RAM and manually set the CPU Core 1.25v the system seems to be much more stable with only the odd crash.

Here are some pics of the of the caps I think are bad, are they?



Slight bulge




Then theres another 3 which look to be bulging, these are next to the end dim slot near the 24PIN ATX connector





This one appears fine, nice and flat for comparison




There are 4 caps in total that I think are bad, could these be having an affect on the DIMM slots and also making the boards stock auto volts low?

The caps read Sanyo 1500uF 6.3v (10mm x 20mm)

Ordered these - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[stj]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

replacing what looks like maybe fake Sanyo with what is probably more fake sanyo.

you should be using Rubycon MCZ series.
or if you know the actual voltage going into each cap, use poly's - they dont leak.

[mikay786]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

replacing what looks like maybe fake Sanyo with what is probably more fake sanyo.

you should be using Rubycon MCZ series.
or if you know the actual voltage going into each cap, use poly's - they dont leak.

I thought I would need to replace like with like?

The ones I ordered are only £3 and can cancel too if it would be best.

Could you link me to the Rubycon MCZ ones and will they not cause issues if they are not the same as the ones fitted?

1500uF 6.3V

And no I don't know what voltage is going into each cap.

[mikay786]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

https://www.badcaps.net/store/produc...products_id=39

something like this, higher 10v but says

These capacitors are a perfect replacement for a 1500uF 6.3v 8mm application.

[theokretes]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

I wouldn't really recommend MCZ as they have unstable electrolyte like KZG and typically don't last very long. Some short out without signs of damage, but I haven't experienced that, just very vivid deaths.

MBZ or ZLH would be better alternatives (in my opinion).

[Jooo]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

You should check your power supply for bad caps too.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Socket 775= The Vcore thing don't even make sense when having crashes with 4 sticks. Vcore is not the voltage for the RAM.

More likely, you need the DRAM voltage bumped to 1.9 V.

My Asus P5QL Pro would freeze at the motherboard logo with 4 sticks before I bumped the DRAM voltage to 1.9 V.

[momaka]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

The caps read Sanyo 1500uF 6.3v (10mm x 20mm)

Ordered these - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those caps on amazon are very very very likely FAKE. Do NOT use them in anything you care about! Chances are, they will not last long at all and you will need to recap the board again (or worse, they could go so bad that they could kill a MOSFET).

Buy caps only from Badcaps.net, Digikey, Mouser, or RScomponents to avoid fakes. Almost everything on eBay is fake too (only a handful of sellers that sell good REAL Japanese caps).

replacing what looks like maybe fake Sanyo with what is probably more fake sanyo.

Actually, those Sanyo's that are originally on his board right now could well be genuine. IIRC, it was mentioned on badcaps a few times that WG series aren't very stable.

you should be using Rubycon MCZ series.

Rubycon MBZ, as well as Nichicon HM, HN, and HZ should all work too. In fact, since these are 16V and not close to the CPU, they are probably not under that much stress. Could probably get away with Chemicon KZE, Rubycon ZL/ZLH/ZLG/ZLJ, Panasonic FM/FR, and Nichicon HD.

You should check your power supply for bad caps too.

+1
Open up the PSU and post some pictures here. Could as well be bad caps in there as well. Also, make sure that your computer has good ventilation/air movement in the case.

My Asus P5QL Pro would freeze at the motherboard logo with 4 sticks before I bumped the DRAM voltage to 1.9 V.

Bumping up the voltage is NOT a good solution to solving cap problems. It is also not a good solution in general, unless the motherboard really is outputting a lower-than-displayed voltage. Just because you set it to 1.9V in the BIOS doesn't mean that the board will be outputting 1.9V. Best to take out a multimeter and measure the voltages, then adjust as needed.

Also, higher RAM voltage means higher thermal dissipation for the chips on the RAM, hence shorter lifespan for the RAM - especially for the cheaper brands.

[mikay786]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Socket 775= The Vcore thing don't even make sense when having crashes with 4 sticks. Vcore is not the voltage for the RAM.

More likely, you need the DRAM voltage bumped to 1.9 V.

My Asus P5QL Pro would freeze at the motherboard logo with 4 sticks before I bumped the DRAM voltage to 1.9 V.

Ram is rated at 1.5v according to the label, although I have read this board does throw fits with lower voltage stuff. (although this is the RAM supplied by DELL in the XPS 730)

[mikay786]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Those caps on amazon are very very very likely FAKE. Do NOT use them in anything you care about! Chances are, they will not last long at all and you will need to recap the board again (or worse, they could go so bad that they could kill a MOSFET).

Cancelled the Sanyo order and

Buy caps only from Badcaps.net, Digikey, Mouser, or RScomponents to avoid fakes. Almost everything on eBay is fake too (only a handful of sellers that sell good REAL Japanese caps).

Ordered these (worked out cheaper). Sellers seems to be trusted on here at badcaps? 100% feedback and searched forum and sellers name cropped up loads of times

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2903579764...ht_2719wt_1161

Rubycon MBZ, as well as Nichicon HM, HN, and HZ should all work too. In fact, since these are 16V and not close to the CPU, they are probably not under that much stress. Could probably get away with Chemicon KZE, Rubycon ZL/ZLH/ZLG/ZLJ, Panasonic FM/FR, and Nichicon HD.

The original Sanyo are 6.3v

Some else where recommended these, can get them locally too

Sanyo OS-CON SEPC - http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/alumin...itors/7955673/

are these any good?

+1
Open up the PSU and post some pictures here. Could as well be bad caps in there as well. Also, make sure that your computer has good ventilation/air movement in the case.

Will do, just to double check is it safe to open up PSU and handle. Read a lot of horror stories about lethal amounts of charge being stored in them even after off? Unit is a Dell 1000w (XPS 730 Rig)

[mikay786]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

here are some pics of inside of PSU.





I assume these are the bad boys I should be wary off!?

[c_hegge]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Your PSU is fine. That thing is built like a tank. Certainly try replacing the caps on the motherboard, but there is a very good chance that your board has another problem. All socket 775 and AM2 boards with nvidia chipsets have known flaws with the chipsets, and a good portion of them are dead or unstable by now as a result. If your board does have a failed chipset, it's toast.

btw, don't use 3rd party image hosting. attach the pictures locally. I've done that for you.

Cancelled the Sanyo order and Ordered these (worked out cheaper). Sellers seems to be trusted on here at badcaps? 100% feedback and searched forum and sellers name cropped up loads of times

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2903579764...ht_2719wt_1161

The link doesn't work

[mikay786]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Your PSU is fine. That thing is built like a tank. Certainly try replacing the caps on the motherboard, but there is a very good chance that your board has another problem. All socket 775 and AM2 boards with nvidia chipsets have known flaws with the chipsets, and a good portion of them are dead or unstable by now as a result. If your board does have a failed chipset, it's toast.

Seems nice and clean inside and all caps I can see look fine. I think chipset is fine as it works fine when I add a bit of volts, was hoping the bad caps were interfering with the power delivery hence having to give more volts.

btw, don't use 3rd party image hosting. attach the pictures locally. I've done that for you.

Noted

The link doesn't work

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2903579764...ht_2719wt_1161

[c_hegge]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Seems nice and clean inside and all caps I can see look fine. I think chipset is fine as it works fine when I add a bit of volts, was hoping the bad caps were interfering with the power delivery hence having to give more volts.

The caps are probably the problem, then. The chipset issue is just something to bear in mind about boards from that era.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2903579764...ht_2719wt_1161

Ah, yes. egekecu. Those caps should be OK. They are new old stock.

[mikay786]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Regarding attaching the pictures locally, the ones you have done for me don't seem to be loading. Is it a case of the images being too large in size? (in future will resize)

Left these ones at full 16.2 megapixel resolution to allow folk to zoom in and out.

edit: worked it out. Seems it wants me to double click on them and once in new window load up fine.

[theokretes]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Those caps on amazon are very very very likely FAKE. Do NOT use them in anything you care about! Chances are, they will not last long at all and you will need to recap the board again (or worse, they could go so bad that they could kill a MOSFET).

Actually, those Sanyo's that are originally on his board right now could well be genuine. IIRC, it was mentioned on badcaps a few times that WG series aren't very stable.

Yeah that's something that always irritated me. There's a lot of counterfeit products sold on amazon that sellers complain about stating 'this is not a good brand', but it's not the brand but the counterfeit product...

I actually think those are genuine sanyos. The covers have the faded printing that you see on genuine ones. And OEMs typically have sources to genuine parts.
--> it seems like there's a lot of blame for OEMs using fake capacitors, when this is simply not the case

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Ram is rated at 1.5v according to the label, although I have read this board does throw fits with lower voltage stuff. (although this is the RAM supplied by DELL in the XPS 730)

Sounds like maybe undervolting, and with 4 sticks, I would bump it to 1.65 V. Sounds like it may be acting up like DDR 2 does.

[Wester547]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Sanyo WG capacitors are actually very pristine as far as their known track records go, I haven't heard or seen any fail other than from discolorating levels of heat. It's Sanyo WF that's known to fail and that's what the OP's board has. I'd say those were indeed causing the issues in question, but I wouldn't say the power supply is quite built like a tank... it does look like a very nice Hipro save for the CapXon HP primaries which in the application of APFC will eventually fail so those should be taken care of too.

[c_hegge]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Sounds like maybe undervolting, and with 4 sticks, I would bump it to 1.65 V. Sounds like it may be acting up like DDR 2 does.

I would not recommend increasing the voltage unless recapping doesn't help. I think you're board only plays up because it's an ASUS and probably has a cheapped out VRM.

[mikay786]

Re: Nvidia 790i Ultra Bad Caps Causing Problems?

Should I replace all 5 of the Sanyos? 1 of them seems ok but since I have ordered 5 Rubycon and there are 5 Sanyo caps?

Also after reading around 1.5v seems quite low for DDR3 boards back say 2008 when the 790i came out. Ive read a few places saying low voltage stuff can cause issues on the 790i and to bump up the Ram volatges especially when using 4 sticks.

I bought the system second hand for not much money and unfortunately reset the CMOS so didn't get a look at the voltages set for the RAM (although since they are the original sticks you would imagine dell would have programmed that into the bios)

Noticed the caps had discharge on them so stripped the system, completely forgot about trying to up the voltages on the RAM but I guess this needed doing anyhow.

Will see anyhow once new caps arrive.