Cap Range

[Berne]

Hi,
What is the average range in 'uf' & Voltage, of caps on motherboards of desktop computers...please include mid - to high performance gaming computers please.

Regards,

Berne

[kaniki]

Re: Cap Range

what do you mean by "range" of caps? Do you mean ones used or the range that makes them good? Example... 3300uf is good from 3290 to 3310 uf, etc.. not saying that those are correct, just an example. or maybe mean what you can replace it with.. example.. replace a 3300 uf cap with a 3400 uf cap.. again, not actual results, just example. or possibly something else?

in otherwards, can you please specify what you mean by range?

[Berne]

Re: Cap Range

what do you mean by "range" of caps? Do you mean ones used or the range that makes them good? Example... 3300uf is good from 3290 to 3310 uf, etc.. not saying that those are correct, just an example. or maybe mean what you can replace it with.. example.. replace a 3300 uf cap with a 3400 uf cap.. again, not actual results, just example. or possibly something else?

in otherwards, can you please specify what you mean by range?

Hi kaniki,
Sorry....What is the tpyical range of Caps in terms of uf and Voltage ( lowest to highest uf range ) one can expect to find on the midspec gaming motherboard.

While on the topic, yes if a chart exists for replacing caps great....one showing safe voltage / uf spec for replacing the above midrange gaming motherboard caps i.e. 10% up or down on installed cap voltage or uf spec is a safe margin ( this is not correct spec but chart should be correct )?

All the best,

[kaniki]

Re: Cap Range

first let me say that i am in no way a professional. I have done quite a few recaps, but not enough to make me a professional in any way.

From the experience that I have run into, on the ones that usually blow or go bad, they are usually anywhere from 6.3v up to about 16v. and as for the uf ratings, usually the bad ones i run into go from 470 uf to 3300 uf. There are others (higher and lower UF and volts) on the boards, but those are the main ranges that i have run into so far that were bad.

as for what is safe to replace with, in the volts area, it is usually best to stay with the same volts or a little higher (can replace a 6.3v with a 10v, or a 10v with a 16v, etc) the voltage is the max power that a cap can withstand before it blows. as for the uf, from what i read you can sometimes go a little higher in uf rating, but it depends on where you are replacing them to if it would hurt anything. maybe someone with more experience can answer that one better.

when it comes to motherboards, all motherboards are different and have different ranges of caps on them so it is not possible to tell exactly what range any certain board will be able to use just by saying that it is a gaming system or a certain brand. and for that reason too, there really is no way to tell, or put safe ranges in a chart. for example, a cap that supplies power to PCI slots may be able to handle a little higher of a uf rating while ones for the ram or processor may cause instability or damage.

I usually just replace the caps with the same size that is in it if i replace them, but i have gone higher on the volts at times, either due to what i have here or to what my supplier has in stock. if you are not ever sure, just ask and people here are usually more then happy to help.

[Berne]

Re: Cap Range

Hello kaniki,
Many thanks for the reply, that gives me a great guideline to follow.

All the best,

Berne