hp compaq d530 sff mobo bad caps question

[Higgins909]

alright so my dad got me a computer lot for $10 at a garage sale a while ago now and it had a hp compaq d530 sff in it everything worked but the mobo,
most of the caps were leaking looking and 2 so bad they had rust spewing out
and a solid cap that looks like it was leaking on the top or another cap got its juices on it, the mobo boots but no post, right now its kinda parted out

but about 4 of these caps I can only find solid's and i dont think the ones on it are solid can I replace non solid caps with solid caps? these caps are to the left of the cpu lil short purple ones 820uf 2.5v what if i run into more that i can only find solid? and would it be worth it to make all the caps near the cpu solid?
I do plan on fitting some nice fans and a diff cpu cooler to get the heat out as it failed to do b4 (I hear sff run really hot esp these P4 boards)

about all caps need replacing.. umm

this will be my first time replacing caps on a board
overall question can I replace electrolytic caps with solid alum caps?
without it being a issue?

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Thanks,
Higgins909

this is a pic I got off the net to mark what caps are what.

[Player2]

Re: hp compaq d530 sff mobo bad caps question

You can replace all of those caps in that row with solid polymers. The four short purple ones look like polys already, but I'd just as soon replace the whole row with the same brand/series. 820 uF @ 2.5v should be fine for all of them. Just be sure to purchase the same diameter replacements (8mm.) You can get them from the site admin: https://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=25

What brand/series are the three next to the pink printer port? The others on the board with the black casing look like Nichicons, they should be alright.

[Higgins909]

Re: hp compaq d530 sff mobo bad caps question

even tho the tall black ones r 1800uf 6.3v and the short purple are 820uf 2.5v?
lets see the lil purple ones r Sanyo tall black Rubycon and them green caps by printer port are hmm all I can find on it is KZE 16v 1200uf

explain 1800 6.3v, 820 uF 2.5v mixnmatched vs all same?

also what do you recommend for a soldering iron? watts
for solder i was gunna find some rosin core thin wire .08mm
the solder iron we have is like this big gun that turns red/orange hot when u hold down the trigger too long XD but i worry that its too heavy for me that I might not be able to do as good of a job with somthing that weighs like under a pound

how fast is badcaps shipping?

I got some cruddyish pics of my board now
on my board there is a solid under the ram unlike the one in the 1st pic on thread
and a yellowish under the agp they seem reversed even tho they should be the same boards

make sure to open em in new tap/window, better res

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Thanks for responding,
Higgins909

[Player2]

Re: hp compaq d530 sff mobo bad caps question

The reason for the difference in ratings between the tall caps (normal electrolytic) and short caps (solid polys) is that the polymer caps have a much lower ESR and much higher ripple current rating, if capacitance were equal. The important characteristics here, where you're replacing caps on the VRM, are ESR (lower is better) and ripple current rating (higher is better.) Looking at the datasheets for some of the better caps, an 820 uF 2.5v poly has nearly half the ESR and more than twice the ripple rating of a very good 1800 uF 6.3v electrolytic. That's why you can replace the electrolytics with much lower capacitance polys. Replacing them all (at least in that row, the VRM) with polys is an improvement over stock.

Why are they mismatched currently? Probably due to cost. Polymer caps are more expensive than normal electrolytics, so if the OEM can save a buck on each board by using a "good enough" cap, multiplied by probably hundreds of thousands of boards, well you see where I'm going! There are some cases where electrolytics are better, but on this row of caps you can use all polys.

The green ones, KZEs, are Chemicons. I'd leave those, if they're not bulged they should be fine. I'm not sure I've ever run across a blown KZE personally.

Solder is largely a personal preference. I prefer the thinner solder, .08mm is a bit thicker than I normally use. Really though you just have to try it and see how it works for you. Radio Shack has some smallish spools in various diameters, that's probably the easiest way to try a few different things and get a feel for it. As for irons, definitely stay away from the cheap Radio Shack models. They aren't usually temp regulated, and when working on motherboards they lose heat quickly and take a long time to heat back up. You want your iron to get nice and hot, so you're not burning the board just trying to get the joint up to the melting point of your solder. Hakko makes nice irons, as does Weller. If you're on a budget, the Tenma irons from MCM Electronics aren't bad, but they're not great either. I'd shoot for an adjustable, 50 to 60 watt iron, if it fits in your budget. Personally, I like the small chisel tips, but a pointed tip (usually comes in the box) will work too. I wouldn't use the gun type iron on a motherboard.

Badcaps ships just as fast as Mouser and Digi-Key, in my experience. Plus you're supporting the site.

The cap by the RAM slots is correct, the black stripe on the yellow cap is equivalent to the blue shading on the metal cap with no jacket. I can't see the orientation of the cap by the AGP slot due to the flash, but the same theory applies. Black stripe is the same as the blue shading.

[Higgins909]

Re: hp compaq d530 sff mobo bad caps question

Thanks Player2, You've been a big help!


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Thanks,
Higgins909

[momaka]

Re: hp compaq d530 sff mobo bad caps question

The D530 SFF motherboard is pretty much the same as the DC5000 (except the DC5000 has less features, such as removed AGP slot, no SATA support, and a few other smaller things). The 2.5V 820 uF poly caps that Player2 suggested are indeed good replacements for the 6.3V 1800 uF Rubycon MCZs around the CPU. I've confirmed this too in the HP DC5000 SFF polymod thread I created.

Granted your board has much nicer caps than the average stuff in those DC5000 computers, I think you can leave the majority of the caps alone and only replace the bad Rubycon MCZ caps around the CPU.

As for soldering irons - I was able to use a 35W iron to recap these systems, but keep in mind that I do have a few years of soldering experience now. If you haven't soldered much or at all before, I would recommend using a 50W iron with a nice and thick chisel tip. Cone tip will work too, but make sure it's at least 4 mm in diameter. Anything less will loose the heat too quickly, especially for those joints around the CPU. Those joints actually suck a lot of power. And the most common way I've seen people damage boards is with an iron that's not hot enough. Therefore, make sure your iron heats up very well, and don't be afraid to heat the legs of the caps for up to 2-3 seconds. This is the method I (and probably many other people) use to remove caps:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpo...7&postcount=23
After removing the caps, I then heat each hole where the cap was and use a sewing needle or similar to push from the other side of the hole to clear it. If you don't clear the hole, that's okay - in such cases, you can install the new cap using almost the same technique I showed above for removing. The only difference between the 2 techniques is that to install the cap, you push down on its top rather than on its sides and alternate the heating from one leg to another.

Another tip I have for you - you may want to buy some flux as well (both liquid and paste would be fine, but paste is preferable). You won't need a whole lot - barely any, actually. But it will help to put a tiny bit of flux on the legs of the capacitors you're going to remove. After that you just add a bit of fresh solder to the tip of your hot iron and use the "wiggle" method to get them out. The flux will greatly help the solder on the iron to adhere with the solder on the joint. This will cause the heat of the iron to quickly melt the solder on the joint (and this makes it easier to move the cap, which in turn reduces the risk of damage to the board).
With a hot iron, the recap should be fairly easy on this board.

Lastly, note the (+) side and the (-) side of the caps. The (-) side is the one with the stripe. However, on the board, the (-) side is the one with the NON-SHADED semi-circle and the (+) of the cap should line up with the SHADED semi-circle. Normally, it's the other way around, but ASUS boards are always backwards of that. So BE CAREFUL not to put the caps in backwards.

[mockingbird]

Re: hp compaq d530 sff mobo bad caps question

This board is pre-RoHS and was relatively easy to work with. Unlike the HP DC7600 tower motherboard I re-capped at the same time. It was I think around 20 caps total on that board. RoHS solder and smaller lead holes.