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    Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

    I've been trying to fix this Shuttle SB83G5A computer for a while now. When it was given to me, the motherboard had 1 visibly bad cap on V_DIMM and all 4 bad caps on what I believe is the Northbridge/Southbridge VRM (3 on low side, 1 on high side). The bad caps were all OST. I replaced them with equivalent/superior Nichicon caps. The motherboard is a FB83 I think.

    The problem is that the fans spin and nothing else happens.

    What I've tried so far (with no further success):
    - replaced a few more caps other than the obviously failed ones, but that didn't help.
    - tried using 2 other known-good power supplies (one is a fully recapped 300W Macron Power, the other one is this) besides the original one, which has no visibly-bad caps.
    - I reset the CMOS – in fact, after the first few tests, I completely removed the CMOS battery.
    - tried the motherboard with and without RAM. The memory sticks I've used for the test are known good, and I am using them in other computers right now without a problem.

    What seems to be working so far:
    - V_DIMM voltage – it shows 2.5V stable, with and without RAM. Some of the other smaller linear voltage regulators also seem to be working fine.
    - The Southbridge, since I can shut down and start the computer from the button successfully, as well as restart it.

    I've measured some of the derived voltages on the motherboard. There's a number of them that aren't coming up (they jump up a bit then settle to a low value), including the CPU's V_CORE. I've checked all MOSFETs on these rails, and none are shorted.

    I think the problem is with Northbridge/Southbridge VRM, since it shows 0.6V only and I'm almost certain 0.6V can't be high-enough for the NB and SB. My logic is that if the NB/SB voltage is not right, then perhaps the other voltages on the motherboard won't be either. The only reason I suspect the NB/SB VRM is because the lower MOSFET *seems* to have a slight bubble on it as best as I can tell.

    I've circled the NB/SB VRM with red. The lower MOSFET is connected between 3.3V rail of the PSU and NB/SB VRM. The upper MOSFET is connected between ground and NB/SB VRM. Caps with red dots on them are on NB/SB VRM low. Yellow – NB/SB VRM high. Green – V_DIMM 2.5v

    In any case, my question is, does anyone know what that NB/SB voltage should be? Perhaps someone who has this motherboard can measure it and tell me if it's not too much of a hassle?

    I would really like to get this PC fixed, since it has a PCI-E slot (a first for me). I like the small form factor of the case as well.

    Also, if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know. At this point I'm open to any and all ideas. In fact, I've very tempted to just insert 1.5V on that spot and see what happens.
    Attached Files

    #2
    Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

    Originally posted by momaka View Post
    The lower MOSFET is connected between 3.3V rail of the PSU and NB/SB VRM. The upper MOSFET is connected between ground and NB/SB VRM.
    1) You know more about this repair than I since I'm still learning, but what is the part number of the mosfet?

    2) I assume all these tests were done with a cpu installed?
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      #3
      Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

      Thanks for the reply, retiredcaps.

      Originally posted by retiredcaps View Post
      1) You know more about this repair than I since I'm still learning, but what is the part number of the mosfet?
      Good call. Don't know why I didn't think about looking it up.
      Both MOSFETs on the NB/SB VRM are Alpha and Omega 4404 N-channel MOSFETs.
      I found the data sheet. Says it's rated for 8.5A continuous, and 24 mOhms min Rds(on). Will look through my junk pile and see what I can find as I do have a few dead motherboards and video cards. I'm still very tempted to just insert 1.5V with an external source on the NB/SB VRM low side since replacing these MOSFETs just seems like a pain in the butt.

      Originally posted by retiredcaps View Post
      2) I assume all these tests were done with a cpu installed?
      Correct.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

        Originally posted by momaka View Post
        I think the problem is with Northbridge/Southbridge VRM, since it shows 0.6V only and I'm almost certain 0.6V can't be high-enough for the NB and SB.
        I'm not sure if my understanding of how this works is correct or not, but the AO4404 datasheet says that the gate threshold voltage minimum is 0.7V, typical is 1.0V, and max is 1.4V.
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          #5
          Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

          look at that vrm again.iirc 915 uses 1.5v core.could also be shorted.does nb or vrm get hot?

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

            Originally posted by kc8adu
            look at that vrm again.iirc 915 uses 1.5v core.could also be shorted.does nb or vrm get hot?
            Correct, 915 uses 1.5v core. Nothing gets hot, though, and that's what worries me a bit. I measured resistance between the NB/SB VRM low and ground and the lowest I got was 40 Ohms. Switching the probes around gives higher readings. In any case, I can't get a short circuit across either of the MOSFETs.

            Originally posted by retiredcaps View Post
            I'm not sure if my understanding of how this works is correct or not, but the AO4404 datasheet says that the gate threshold voltage minimum is 0.7V, typical is 1.0V, and max is 1.4V.
            Vgs(th) indicates just what voltage the MOSFET needs in order to turn on.

            Good thing you brought it up, though. I measured the Gate voltage on both MOSFETs and here's what I got:
            - the lower (supposedly bad) MOSFET that's connected between 3.3v rail and NB/SB VRM low has 1.4v on its Gate.
            - the upper MOSFET that's connected between ground and NB/SB VRM low has 0.0v on its Gate.

            So if I'm not mistaken, it looks like the PWM controller controlling these MOSFETs is trying to make the lower MOSFET conduct, but perhaps the lower MOSFET is open?
            As for the 0.6v present on the NB/SB VRM, my only guess is that this is caused from leakage current from other components. Any thoughts on this?

            If not, I guess I'll remove the lower MOSFET, test it out of circuit, and then proceed from there.
            Last edited by momaka; 10-24-2011, 11:05 PM.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

              It's really been a while since I last updated the info in this thread. I removed the lower 4404 MOSFET a long time ago and tested it out of circuit - there was a short circuit (6-8 Ohms actually) not only between Source and Drain of that MOSFET but also between Gate and Drain! Checking the resistance between the Gate pad on the motherboard for that MOSFET and ground revealed a short circuit too. So looks like the MOSFET took out the controller with it after it shorted. GREAT! The controller that's responsible for driving this buck circuit is a RichTek RT9203.

              And now for some more bad news...
              Before I even found the gate drive on the RT9203 controller for that MOSFET was shorted, I tried wiring up a 60N03 MOSFET in place of the dead 4404 to see if the NB voltage would come up. And in this process, I managed to rip the pad on the board for the Gate of that MOSFET. So now even if I do get a replacement RT9203 controller and 4404 MOSFET, I would still have to do some ghetto hacks to wire the Gate drive.

              I've been eager to test that computer so I've also been working on a 1.5V DC-DC power supply. Finally made a design not too long ago that actually works well enough with more than 0.5A of load, but I think it's oscillating at high loads (2A and above). It's a linear setup with a single MOSFET and XRA10358 (equivalent to LM358) op-amp. I'll leave that for another thread, though. Maybe if I get that working, I'll use it instead of buying replacement MOSFET and controller. Not that the controller is that expensive or anything. Just eager to build my own working DC-DC low-voltage power supply. Right now, the circuit I have works fine with 0.5A of load or less. When I go above 1A, the voltage goes up to 1.6V - I'm not sure if the Intel 915G NB will like that. Finally, when I increase the load to 5A, the output drops to 1.42 to 1.48V (it's fluctuating all the time).
              Last edited by momaka; 11-11-2012, 11:00 PM.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                And another update for this thread (if anyone cares, lol ).
                .
                .
                I bought a replacement RT9203 controller from eBay. Since the gate trace to the upper MOSFET was ripped on the board, I decided I might as well just kludge it with a DPAK MOSFET (I have quite a few of them). Ended up using a 60N02 MOSFET (25V, 62A, 8.4 mOhm Rds_on). Pictures of the handy work are attached below . Yeah, I know... as usual. The braid soldered to the MOSFET's tab is its heat sink and holder, BTW .

                Surprisingly when I powered it on, nothing smoked . However, the motherboard is still dead as a stone . I checked the voltage output of the NB buck regulator and it's putting out 1.44-1.45V. That seems pretty close to the required 1.5V for the NB, don't you think?

                Also, now that the NB voltage rail is present, all of the other major voltage rails are present too. Before this, the CPU Vcore and RAM VTT were not present along with a few other voltage rails. So looks like there IS some progress after all.

                CPU Vcore is at 1.57V, though. Isn't that a bit high? FYI, CPU is a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 (socket 775, Prescott??). I just looked on CPU-World website and all Pentium 4 for the socket 775 are rated for up to 1.4V. So something looks wrong here I think . Caps on the CPU VRM low side seem fine though (there's 4x 6.3V 3300uF Ost RLS and 8x 4V 560uF Sanyo SEPC polymers). If anything, those polymers should be keeping everything stable. In addition, I added an extra 4V 820uF Fujitsu FP-CAP RE series, so I think there shouldn't be any excess ripple on the CPU VRM output.

                Lastly, I tried a POST card. Doesn't look like the BIOS is trying to boot at all (POST card stays at "00"). Normally, the POST card will display some numbers as the BIOS is going through the POST process. CPU fan is still blowing on full blast (it's PWM controlled and should slow down if POST is successful).

                Another abnormality I noticed is that the first few times I tried the computer after I put in the MOSFET and the RT9203 buck controller is that the POST card indicated that the PSU 3.3V rail was not present and the NB voltage was only showing 1.34V (unless I made an error measuring with my multimeter). I then connected the PCI-E auxiliary power connector on the motherboard (it's a 4 pin floppy connector) and on the next boot, the POST card indicated that the PSU 3.3V rail was present and the NB voltage rail came up to 1.45V. Ever since then, it doesn't matter if I have the PCI-E auxiliary power connected or not - PSU 3.3V rail on the POST card always shows up as present and the NB voltage rail has been fine since then too. Coincidence or weird occurrence?

                So, any ideas? I believe I have tried pretty much everything on this motherboard. The only few things I could still try is a new CPU, replace the NB, and maybe reflash the BIOS or replace it altogether. Out of these 3, though, only replacing the CPU seems something I can do. I can't replace the i915 NB because I don't have another one (unless someone here has a dead board with one and doesn't mind pulling it off), and I don't have a BIOS flasher. So if anyone has any ideas, it'd love to hear them. I don't need this computer badly or anything, but it would be nice to have and also good learning experience (+ highly rewarding for my mind since I've done so much work on it ).
                Attached Files
                Last edited by momaka; 01-01-2013, 06:06 PM.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                  I really like your attention to details, wish I were 1/2 as good as you.

                  Let me know what plcc chip you have, I have a box of spare plcc chips and I can easily program for you and ship it out for free.

                  Looking forward for updates.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                    Thanks for the offer and kind comments, Gabriel. Before trying another BIOS chip, I think I have another problem I need to straighten out first, and that is the CPU voltage. I just did another test 5 minutes ago and CPU voltage is still at 1.56V - 1.57V. This is definitely not right! Thus I ended up recapping the 4x OST RLS 10V 3300uF caps with 6.3V 2700uF Rubycon MFZ (pulled from Xbox 360s... FYI these MFZ caps have much better specs than the OST RLS series). But the voltage was still the same.

                    I'm not sure what controls the CPU voltage, but I can only think of a few things that can affect it. Either NB is bad and not detecting the CPU properly, the CPU socket joints are cracked (I will admit that there were a few times where I wasn't very gentle with this motherboard), the CPU is bad, or the BIOS is corrupt and giving the wrong info to the CPU voltage controller.

                    Was going to get a cheap refurb P4 CPU at MicroCenter today, but they were out of stock. So the next option I think I will try is to do a CPU socket reflow. If that doesn't fix it either, then I might change the NB (if I find another one from a junk motherboard) or get a new BIOS chip. Unfortunately, I'm starting college again, so I don't know when I will have time to work on this. But as always, any suggestions on what to try are welcome.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Shuttle SB83G5A - she's alive!

                      Before anyone else says it... YES, HOLY ANCIENT THREAD REVIVAL, BATMAN!

                      It's not without a reason, though! - the Shuttle SB83G PC in this thread is alive!!!
                      .
                      .
                      .
                      Well, sort of. I'll elaborate.
                      She's not exactly fixed yet. But at least I found the problem, and you're not going to believe it - bad BGA in the CPU socket, just as I suspected right from the beginning. (that is, after I recapped the motherboard and fixed the NB VRM)

                      So how is it that I found about it now, you ask? Simple: pure luck.
                      After doing a full recap on this motherboard... more than 6 years ago, mind you ... I needed some short 6.3V 1500/1800 uF caps recently. Since I didn't have any in stock, I remembered the recap I did in this PC and pulled it out from storage (yes, probably shocking to some of you that I even kept it this long), then pulled most of the good caps from its motherboard. I figured it's dead forever and I would probably never be able to revive it, so I started pulling various cables and parts from this system all these years. Who knew I would prove myself wrong!

                      After pulling some of the good caps from this motherboard for use on other projects, I still felt bad for it. Thus, I shoved back in a few of the original capacitors that were still good (namely, the OST RLS on the CPU VRM), along with a few excess pulled Teapo SC. I powered it on, and nothing had changed - mobo still dead and POST card stuck at "FF". (Previously, I mentioned in my above posts that it was stuck on "00". But over the years, I found that this POST card will usually give "00" in dusty PCI slots and/or ones with tarnished contacts, until the card is inserted a few times to clean them. After doing this, I got a stable "FF" and no BUS activity on the PCI slot, other than when PWR or RESET buttons were pressed.)

                      Also, the ghetto Northbridge VRM repair shown above in post #8 kind of started to bother me. Even though the motherboard was dead, I decided to re-do it a bit neater and maybe give the PC another go at testing.

                      I still didn't have any SOIC-8 MOSFETs for a proper replacement, so I just re-arranged/re-soldered the TO-252 MOSFET, like so:
                      https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1556847019
                      https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1556847019
                      Yes, that handiwork is not beautiful by any means. But hey, the MOSFET still fits and the circuit still works! (Note: capacitor CE83 was re-installed after taking these pictures - a Rubycon MFZ 6.3V 820 uF from an Xbox 360.)

                      I checked the voltage after re-doing the above MOSFET, and the NB VRM still had proper voltage (about 1.52V this time.)

                      But apart from that, the motherboard was still "dead", with the POST card showing "FF" and CPU voltage still incorrect at almost 1.6V. In my last post here, I mentioned that I should try another CPU... which I did (another Pentium 4 CPU) many years ago. I just didn't bother updating the thread because nothing had changed in terms of symptoms. This left only three things I suspected could be wrong: bad Northbridge (due to the VRM burning out the first time), bad BIOS, or bad BGA in the CPU socket.

                      While bad BGA in the CPU socket seemed unlikely, I will tell you why I had a suspicion this was the issue: when I was taking this PC apart for the first time, there was a rubber foot between the motherboard and the case, right under the CPU socket. I imagine due to heat, it had its glue badly melted. Because of this, the motherboard was still stuck in the case, even after I had removed all screws. I remember I rotated and flexed the motherboard quite a bit before the glue on that rubber foot finally gave up. And this is when I suspect I had cracked the socket BGA. But due to the bad caps on the motherboard and later the shorted NB VRM MOSFET, I just didn't want to believe this was the issue, even though this incident with flexing the motherboard was always on the back of my mind all along.

                      So when I saw the wrong CPU voltage this time in addition with the POST card stuck in "FF" and no change in behavior regardless of whether or not I had RAM in the system... something in the back of my mind put two and two together that perhaps it is a BGA issue with the CPU socket. Thus, I decided to insert some pressure on the CPU cooler and try powering the motherboard that way. I don't know why I didn't think of doing this before, as I've suggested it numerous times to other people here when doing motherboard troubleshooting.

                      So with everything still connected the same way, I pressed hard on the CPU socket and then pressed the power button. Miraculously, this time I saw the POST codes on the POST card change. After two seconds, the motherboard turned off, then auto-powered again, ran through different POST codes, and then... BEEP! - my LCD screen turned On and I got a picture on it, saying default CMOS settings running!

                      Just to make sure I wasn't day dreaming or imagining things, I decided to re-run all these tests. First, I turned Off the PC. Then, I tried powering the system On without inserting pressure over the CPU socket/cooler. Unsurprisingly, the system didn't boot and POST card was stuck again on "FF" code. I powered it down, inserted pressure over the CPU, then powered On again. But I wasn't imagining things - the PC POSTed successfully again!

                      With all that being said and done, I think this confirms it that the BGA for the CPU socket was (hopefully) my last issue with this PC. Now the question is whether I should try re-flowing the CPU socket BGA or just insert something underneath it to put pressure on the board. The reason I am hesitant to do a reflow is because I would need to remove all of the electrolytic caps in the area (again.) Leaving them in would surely pop them, as they are connected with thick Coper traces to the CPU socket. Also, there's always a chance something could go wrong with the reflow and thus mess up the motherboard even more. In particular, I've never done any large CPU socket reflows like this, and I know the process requires quite a bit of heat. This means there's a considerable chance I could warp the board when doing so and actually make it irreparable. On the other hand, propping the motherboard with something underneath it for applying pressure under the CPU socket could also warp the board over time and make it impossible to do a successful reflow/reball on the CPU socket. So that's why I'm not keen on doing that either.

                      Yes, I know this is only an old (and now quite worthless) Pentium 4 motherboard that's arguably worth spending any time on. But please take a moment to understand that I am doing this for fun. I've come so far (and so close), that I really just have to finish it now. Hence, all the pondering above about what would be the better way to proceed. With that said, does anyone have any suggestions regarding the above matter?

                      Also, I see that I never posted a "cap map" for this motherboard, which is something I always do with my other recaps. Funny, because I did draw one many many years back (and scanned it too.) I don't imagine anyone would be recapping such an old PC anymore... but why not, right?

                      Anyways, cheers!

                      I'll update this thread again when I think of a way to fix the CPU BGA socket issue. Might not be very soon, but we'll see.
                      Attached Files
                      Last edited by momaka; 05-02-2019, 07:39 PM.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                        i'm not sure if reflowing a board with a ruptured pad is a wise idea... bad things might happen?? just write a note to self with the board and leave it aside until another board comes by. maybe write,"bad cpu bga and ruptured nb vrm mosfet pad. unable to reflow", as the note. that should help remembering what happened with this board. until then, just chuck it aside and focus on another project.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                          Originally posted by ChaosLegionnaire View Post
                          i'm not sure if reflowing a board with a ruptured pad is a wise idea... bad things might happen??
                          But who says a CPU pad is ruptured?
                          I've seen brute-force removed BGA chips (like a G92 GPU chip I got with a lot of CPUs), and the chances of the pads getting lifted with the solder are much smaller for Pb-free solder than Pb solder.

                          Originally posted by ChaosLegionnaire View Post
                          just write a note to self with the board and leave it aside until another board comes by.
                          Not gonna happen.

                          I've been looking for this board online for years now (since my last post in 2013, actually.) Have not seen the same model of board at all. I did see a few newer and older models that could have fit in there... but the prices they were asking for some of these were ridiculous. More than half of them weren't even advertised as working. $30 or more for a "For parts or repair" motherboard?! - No way, Jose! I ain't buying that!

                          Also, the board is already in not working condition as it is. Attempting a repair could make it worse, sure - but so what? It's of no use to me in its current condition, anyways. Thus, I might as well attempt to repair it. And if it gets worse or broke "for good", then so be it. Of course, if I can think of a way to fix it without damaging it further, that would be better. So the question is, as noted above, which repair attempt would give better chance of reviving the board.

                          Originally posted by ChaosLegionnaire View Post
                          maybe write,"bad cpu bga and ruptured nb vrm mosfet pad. unable to reflow", as the note.
                          The ripped MOSFET pad on the NB VRM is not an issue - that's what the blue wire is there for. (i.e. it's connecting the MOSFET's Gate directly to the controller's PWM output, which is how the board is wired anyways - no Gate resistors or anything fancy.)

                          So really this board had/has 3 issues.
                          1) Bad caps
                          2) Bad MOSFET on NB VRM
                          3) Bad BGA on CPU socket

                          1) and 2) were there before I got the board, and I already took care of these two. 3) was likely induced by me as a result of the board being stuck to the case, and is the only issue that seems to keep this PC from getting fixed. So I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel here! I just hope the tunnel doesn't crumble in front of me right at the end.

                          Originally posted by ChaosLegionnaire View Post
                          that should help remembering what happened with this board. until then, just chuck it aside and focus on another project.
                          Oh, I know what happened to this board very well. It's the only Shuttle board I have, so it's kind of memorable. (Moreover, I actually do remember the work I did on pretty much all of my motherboards.)
                          Last edited by momaka; 05-04-2019, 08:37 PM.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                            I love the details! This has been a fun read. I applaud you for your effort and work. haha That desoldering wick hack is a thing of beauty.

                            I think the question of "Should I reflow the processor" would depend a bit on your skill and comfort level. lol Reflowing larger BGA chips can be nightmarish/prone to disaster. That being said, if it's already broke and that seems to be the only solution, maybe you don't have much to lose? Additionally, if this is to be a learning experience, it might be worth it just for that! I mean, you did essentially do the troubleshooting work. :p

                            If you do end up re flowing it, I would just make sure and give it plenty flux so that it can penetrate up under the chip/between the bga. I probably wouldn't do a rework on it unless you happen to a good purpose made solder paste and a stencil, but then again I'm not very good at this. lol
                            Last edited by Retro-Hipster; 05-24-2019, 02:55 PM.


                            “Men always seem to think about their
                            past before they die, as though they were
                            frantically searching for proof that they
                            truly lived.”
                            – Jet (Cowboy Bebop) -

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                              The LGA is the only thing to reflow as I understand it. Add some flux, then blast that socket with a heatgun
                              Main rig:
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                              Core i5-3470 3.60GHz
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                                #16
                                Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                                Originally posted by momaka View Post
                                Now the question is whether I should try re-flowing the CPU socket BGA or just insert something underneath it to put pressure on the board.
                                Well...
                                I tried putting a spacer on top of the rubber foot that was underneath the CPU socket, and with that, I could not get the motherboard to post at all, no matter whether I inserted pressure on top of the CPU socket or not.

                                So I removed the spacer and tried again. Got the motherboard to post reliably every time I put pressure over the CPU socket area (tested about 5-6 times.) On that, it's interesting to note here that once the motherboard boots, I can stop inserting pressure over the CPU socket, and the motherboard will continue to work, so long as I don't power-cycle the machine (soft reboot is fine, though.)

                                While at it, I took a few moments to play around inside the BIOS. Unlike major OEM's BIOSes, Shuttle seems to have left the BIOS for this motherboard pretty much stock from the motherboard's manufacturer (which I suspect is Jetway, though I can't really confirm.) And being a Phoenix BIOS, it actually had pretty decent overclocking and tuning/tweaking options, including BUS speed selection. I tried 250 MHz instead of the stock 200 MHz (meaning the 2.8 GHz CPU in there should run at 3.5 GHz)... but that was probably too much of a push and the mobo ended up not POSTing (until I reset the CMOS again, that is.)

                                So yeah... I might come up with a temp solution to have pressure inserted over the CPU area to get the PC to work again, just so I can play around with it for a bit. But other than that, it's probably going to end up being a reflow at some point in time. Just have to see when. I have a few video cards in the cue before this... and a few other projects before those. On top of that, I just started a new job a few weeks ago, so I've had less time to work on my personal stuff. (And then there's Fortnite - a major drain of my free time after work, lately.)

                                Originally posted by Dan81 View Post
                                The LGA is the only thing to reflow as I understand it. Add some flux, then blast that socket with a heatgun
                                Yup.
                                Will do.
                                Probably will be stovetop gas burner + heatgun, though - that way, I get more even heating from top and bottom. Not to mention the stovetop gas burner does the majority of the work. Even on its lowest setting, most boards I put on it will reach 150-170C within 3-7 minutes, which is actually a decent "heating curve" for a reflow profile. Then I turn on the heat gun and to get things to the right reflow temperature.

                                Originally posted by Retro-Hipster View Post
                                I love the details! This has been a fun read. I applaud you for your effort and work.
                                Thanks!

                                Originally posted by Retro-Hipster View Post
                                haha That desoldering wick hack is a thing of beauty.
                                Yeah, ghetto mods at their finest! But that's all I could come up with at the time.
                                I did do another motherboard even better, though - that one has all MOSFETs with their tab free-standing in the air. So for extra cooling, I soldered a bunch of used braid to each one. Not sure how much that helps, as I've yet to commission that motherboard into use. But over the time I've used it (quite a few 2-3 hour-long sessions), it's been stable and cool-running. But anyways, that's a showcase for another thread, perhaps. I've finally gotten into a phase where I am building PCs with my spare fixed junk on a more regular basis. So within a year or two, I should have most of my stuff posted.

                                Originally posted by Retro-Hipster View Post
                                I think the question of "Should I reflow the processor" would depend a bit on your skill and comfort level. lol Reflowing larger BGA chips can be nightmarish/prone to disaster. That being said, if it's already broke and that seems to be the only solution, maybe you don't have much to lose? Additionally, if this is to be a learning experience, it might be worth it just for that! I mean, you did essentially do the troubleshooting work. :p
                                Well, I've actually done some work on large BGA chips (PS3 GPU chips, anyone?) and that's exactly why I am a bit put off. As I remember, the biggest problem with large BGA chips is that the board tends to warp under its own weight and due to the different expansion rates of materials in the CPU/BGA area.

                                And with LGA 775 socket, I need to see if there is a way to take apart the metal pieces from the CPU socket, as I imagine they might add too much weight on the BGA and crush things in there, thus opening the possibility of the BGA bridging.

                                But other than that, at least heat-wise I shouldn't have any issues, as I plan on doing this on my gas burner + heat gun, just as I've done many of my other successfull "home-brew" reflows now.

                                Originally posted by Retro-Hipster View Post
                                If you do end up re flowing it, I would just make sure and give it plenty flux so that it can penetrate up under the chip/between the bga. I probably wouldn't do a rework on it unless you happen to a good purpose made solder paste and a stencil, but then again I'm not very good at this. lol
                                Oh, who needs stencils when you can manually place the balls one by one.
                                (Don't ask - I've actually had to do it once. But it was on a smaller chip. And what I did is I used a "general purpose" stencil that has holes in a big square pattern. So I just used that stencil to place most of the balls on the chip and then removed the "extra" ones that the chip didn't have pads for. Took a little over an hour just for that, but it's doable.)
                                Last edited by momaka; 05-26-2019, 06:53 PM.

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                                  #17
                                  Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                                  Originally posted by momaka View Post
                                  Even on its lowest setting, most boards I put on it will reach 150-170C within 3-7 minutes, which is actually a decent "heating curve" for a reflow profile. Then I turn on the heat gun and to get things to the right reflow temperature.
                                  I usually blast stuff right away at 350*C when I reflow (using a automotive heatgun) and have had lots of success (2 PS3s, a Geforce 7600GT 256MB PCI-E, a 9800GT, a 7900GS and the list can continue) with it. Key part is don't heat stuff up for too long if using such heat guns. I usually kept it blasting for about 2-3 minutes tops.

                                  But in the end, your technique will probably work (haven't tried it, am really curious to see how it turns out!)too.
                                  Main rig:
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                                  120GB ADATA + 2x Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB
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                                    #18
                                    Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                                    I don't really have any advice on good ghetto reflow methods because I didn't actually reflow/rework any bga chips until I had an ok hot air station. ^,^; I'm sure I am like those people that learn how to weld on tig then suddenly try to stick weld on an important project without practicing first. ahaha I would surely kill the thing. lol


                                    “Men always seem to think about their
                                    past before they die, as though they were
                                    frantically searching for proof that they
                                    truly lived.”
                                    – Jet (Cowboy Bebop) -

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                                      #19
                                      Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                                      There were metal frames available for the PS3s and Xbox 360s. 3mm steel with threaded holes for metal standoffs. The board were then screwed to it to prevent warping.

                                      Perhaps you could make something similar to clamp your board ?

                                      Nice work on the new job BTW, what are you doing ?

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                                        #20
                                        Re: Need help with Shuttle SB83G5A - fans spin but that's all

                                        Originally posted by Dan81 View Post
                                        I usually blast stuff right away at 350*C when I reflow (using a automotive heatgun) and have had lots of success (2 PS3s, a Geforce 7600GT 256MB PCI-E, a 9800GT, a 7900GS and the list can continue) with it.
                                        ^ All of these above have one thing in common: nVidia bumpgate problem. It was supposed to be fixed on the GF 9 series (and to a point it was - took them a lot more for those chips to fail, and at higher temperatures), but still not fully. As such, these cards don't actually necessarily need a "proper" reflow to work again. Heating them to ~150C can bring them back, especially the GF 7 and 8 series.

                                        That said, I don't think I've ever had a successful nVidia video card reflow yet. Seems that whenever I do the full reflow on them (that is, up to proper temperatures), they just die or become worse. With ATI on the other hand, it's completely the opposite: if I didn't heat them to at least 210C, high chance they wouldn't change. Only after reaching proper reflow temps I'd sometimes get a working card... but chances so far have been about 50/50 with those.

                                        Originally posted by Dan81 View Post
                                        But in the end, your technique will probably work (haven't tried it, am really curious to see how it turns out!)too.
                                        It should, if the board doesn't warp. After all, I've removed CPU sockets from boards (namely, a 478) without any damage and also swapped RAM chips on the same way on two GF 7600 cards.

                                        Originally posted by diif View Post
                                        There were metal frames available for the PS3s and Xbox 360s. 3mm steel with threaded holes for metal standoffs. The board were then screwed to it to prevent warping.
                                        Funny you mention those. We had them in the repair shop I worked many years ago. Seemed to do more damage than good, as they were painted black and expanded quite a bit by themselves - a lot more than copper or the PCB material itself. At least in my experience, once we switched to them, I saw a decrease in successful reflows and noticed more board warping than before. So I tend to shy away from these. Leaving a board on un-tightened rail mounts so that the board is free to expand as it pleases with the heat is better IMO.

                                        Originally posted by diif View Post
                                        Perhaps you could make something similar to clamp your board ?
                                        I use a microwave/oven cooking grille on which I place the board. The metal bars are thin and spaced about 0.5" (~1.5 cm) apart, so they provide decent support.

                                        Originally posted by diif View Post
                                        Nice work on the new job BTW, what are you doing ?
                                        Thanks!
                                        Nothing much still, as it's only been a month in. Just supporting the systems on a local toll road here, which mostly entails replacing coin machines and resetting/tweaking traffic controllers. Driving around that road is probably the biggest time sink - I probably clock in a good 25-100 miles per day, not counting driving to work. So yeah... lots of driving.

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