How near the rated spec do they nned to be?

[bubo]

I've found that RS componets in the UK do most of the caps I want but the 1500uF seems to be non existant in this country. How critical is it for the cap to be exactly this value? Would a 1200uF or a 2200uF be acceptable in its place? The m/b is an epox 8rda+.

I've checked with digikey and they say they will supply low quantites but I'm guessing once post and packing is added it will work out rather expensive so a local solution is preferable.

BTW, you might like to have a look at my site

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bubo/

It shows infra red thermal images I took of my motherboard. The bad caps thing may explain why some of the mosfets are hotter than others.

[Topcat]

Digikey is expensive to begin with... On small quantities and overseas, bend over!

It's fine to substitute 2200uF caps in place of 1500uF caps. I wouldn't go down though. I would avoid using 1200uF caps if at all possible. They would probably be OK, since 1200uF is within the tolerance of 1500, but if I had to substitute, it's better to go up, not down.