Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

[ChaoZ]

Hi Guys

You sure have one helluva website running here, with very knowledgable members.

First of all, I would like to thank the authors of the various articles and posts which made my first recap experience successful -> unexpected joy for the electronic-noob.

I was given a 4 years old EPOX 8RGA+ with NF2 Integrated Graphics. I tried fixing up everything on the board, giving active cooling to everything.

I have no problem using regular Athlon 1800/2400+, but when I matched it up with a Barton. The increased voltage will incurred system hang-ups.

Tried everything from software patches/bios settings/old drivers to additional cooling, nothing helped at all.

I swore I saw no bad caps, till I kept reading about the particular row of capacitors, running parallel, above the processor socket.

- 06 x Teapos 3300uf 6.3V
(From right to left)
One having a slight bloat
4 had blown bottoms(geez... these ones got me)
the last one on the left seems fine

Went to search for replacements but end up with either '12.5mm 4700uf 16v FC' or the exact replacements using Teapo SD(Cyan Blue).

Had a hard time, searching for them. Higher capacitance or out of size or dodgy brands. Took the Teapos finally(I know, not the best, but they fit), and went ahead with the replacements. LOL, had a hard time with my 18W iron + pliers + sharp-pin, till I went for the big guy -> HAMMER drill with a PCB drillbit.

Botchy job but the board boots up

Board is running good, no system hangups even with my fingers running around the caps(this is how i detect bad ones :p)

Temperature actually went down by 5 degrees, I dont believe it either - perhaps due to the lesser power loss of the defective caps.

Tried overclocking but still the same(due to limitation of NF2-GT chipset). No performance gain but 1000% stability gain.

Thank you guys!


Joshua

[gonzo0815]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

Uhhhh drilling is a very hot topic here lucky you that the board is running fine again.

Any way, regarding the caps, 3300uF 6.3v @10mm is widely available from any brand (e.g. Panasonic FC, FM, Samxon GD, GC, etc.)

On the Epox there is no need in increasing capacitance, as they put enough on their boards.
Any way, if it worked out for, it does not hurt.

[severach]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

>One having a slight bloat

When you start testing bad caps with a cap meter you'll find there's no such thing as a slight bloat. You're lucky because there was at least something visible to help determine which caps were bad even if you didn't happen to know what too look for. I've seen capacitors with a slight slight slight bloat that are showing 10% of the printed value.

>LOL, had a hard time with my 18W iron + pliers + sharp-pin, till I went for the big guy -> HAMMER drill with a PCB drillbit.

Didn't anyone ever tell you not to take a knife to a gun fight. The big guy 140W Weller 8200 I use on the RoHS boards soldered with SAC305 outputs almost 10x the power.

[stretch0069]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

HAMMER drill with a PCB drillbit.

mikee passes out........

[linuxguru]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

The hotter CPU temps on the boards with bad caps is usually due to the large voltage ripple on Vcore due to lower capacitances and higher ESRs on the bad caps at the VRM output. The CPU power dissipation rises at least quadratically (maybe even more) with the Vcore voltage - causing the temperature spike, which will eventually lead to CPU failure.

What saves CPUs from failing even more frequently is the built-in thermal throttling and BIOS-supported power-management modes on some boards. That, and the VRM FETs blowing open or desoldering themselves off the board. If the FETs blow short, there's no way for the CPU to avoid getting cooked.

[starfury1]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

Men have been hung round these here parts for even mentioning drill bit and MB in the same breath....

learn the needle method and get a bigger iron for the job if you intend on doing recapping

Seems the Barton was the straw that broke the "already weakened" camel's back

Tried everything from software patches/bios settings/old drivers to additional cooling, nothing helped at all.

Its sad really,
I often wonder how many people have been down this path and then never found out it was a hardware problem not software.

How many time Bill Gates got blamed for something which really wasn't his fault (this time)

Well hope it all staying working for you, but if everything is as it *should be,
it should stay working

Cheers and Welcome

(*like you haven't screwed the via's used the right caps and your solder work is good etc)

[kiddznet]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

Hi, newbie here as well
I like the "get a bigger iron' comment. My iron just wont melt them little suckers tabs out of a Mobo
How BIG an iron is good for the job?

[Scenic]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

try adding solder (preferably leaded.. lower melting point) with flux to the joints first..
i usually try it first with that method and my 35W iron.. if that's not hot enough (big ground plates on the board) i get out the bigger toys

[kiddznet]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

There is a clip on Yootoob somewhere, showing Indian workers melting off ( and putting back on!) components easily with what looks like a small thimble sized electric heated solder filled tub.

[kiddznet]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

Well I got a good iron and replaced a few bulging caps in an old 478 GA board
I used Samxon, good cap right?
Oh, the joy of hearing the speaker wailing when the board was lit up!
In went the ram and away it sped!
Thank you for this forum, very encouraging to an old fella.

[kiddznet]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

I am now looking at an EPOX EP4DAI P4 478 board that has several domed 3300 uf 6.5v Teapos
Looks like ten in all on the board, pretty cramped line of them beside the CPU. What can I use that is a the same diameter ?. My boy and I want to fiddle with this board and make it go fast, hee hee...

[Per Hansson]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

You can use* Samxon, GD or GC
Rubycon, MBZ or MCZ
Sanyo MV-WG
Nichicon HM, HN

Listed good/better
Btw, welcome to the forums and I'm glad to hear you fixed that other board
*Also there are more suitable caps you can choose, this is just a small list from memory....

[kiddznet]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

Well I've got me a Duratech 80W chisel tip bad boy
Man them caps just FALL out like teeth!

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

As long as all the nearby SMD parts don't "fall out like teeth" too, more power to ya!

My teeth don't come out all that easy.
Maybe a dental appointment is in order?
hehehehe

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

Well I've got me a Duratech 80W chisel tip bad boy
Man them caps just FALL out like teeth!

I have a 60W iron with a HUGE tip (dunno if it can even be called a tip) which was originally intended for soldering pipes, cases and stuff like that. Takes FOREVER to warm up, but once it does, it makes an easy job of removing those pesky surface mount MOSFETs. Even easier than my fancy new hot air rework station.

[shovenose]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

so can a 25w be successfully used for something like this? it only cost like $20 and it seems good enough for soldering components on but ive never tried a recap with it. would it work?

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

so can a 25w be successfully used for something like this? it only cost like $20 and it seems good enough for soldering components on but ive never tried a recap with it. would it work?

No.
50w-60w minimum if you aren't experienced with mobo's.

Motherboards are thick and that sucks the heat out of the iron faster than a low watt iron can keep up.
You would end up with the iron on the joint for a long time and rather than melting the solder it will slowly heat up the whole board.
An iron with some umpth will melt the solder quick so you can get off the joint before the rest of the board heats up.

Frys electronics has a starter 60 watt for 15 bucks.
http://www.frys.com/product/3317532?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

I got one when I was away from home and ended up having to solder something.
They aren't deluxe but they aren't too bad either.

.

[stj]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

no.
because i have a 48w iron that can only just manage on some boards.

[pegdizzler]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

Interesting that everyone is recommending high wattage irons. I'd like get a hotter guy eventually for "large part" removal.

I use a 40W Weller iron with the small temp-adjusting station. Tip is a very miniature Weller pointy tip, cap is usually free by "rocking" it back and forth 3-4 times. New here as well, wish I would have taken pictures so far before I found this board!

[kiddznet]

Re: Epox 8RGA+ Newbie's Greetings

I find I'm using the 80watt "badboy" for most everything
Trim the cap leads before soldering, bit of flux on the joint. apply iron with a good tinned surface and the solder flows neatly well into the hole, no need to for solder wire, which is good for me as I have one pretty well useless hand.