Google Earth & Bad Caps

[Bob Parker]

Google Earth got more and more unstable on my PC until I couldn't use it any more. I read all kinds of forums about what might be causing it, changed program versions and video card drivers, and nothng helped.

I finally pulled out the Gigabyte Nvidia FX5200 video card and checked the electrolytic caps. The 1000uF 6.3V with the swollen top had an ESR of 13 ohms. The others measured 0.03 ohms each so I left them alone.

I replaced it with a pair of low ESR 1500uF 10V caps I had (using the existing cap's solder pads + two spare pads in parallel with it), and suddenly Google Earth is perfectly stable again. The weird thing is that the video card was working OK with all other programs.

My final act was to install a small fan to blow air over that board. It used to run too hot to touch and now it's just quite warm and I'm happy.

[i4004]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpo...54&postcount=5

for me google picasa and earth ment hdd thrashing...

this seems to be different issue, perhaps because google earth uses opengl and pushes the gpu over the limit...
(then again, i doubt u use directx much either, as that's games and simillar)
look at that fet being almost completly burnt by the bad cap!
look at other two being completely normal, as caps near it are ok.

yeap. caps eat fets....

[Wizard]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

Oh, hi Bob Parker!

Still using ESR meters of your design years now, own two. Saved much time and paying money at TV shop.

Next time try to use one of loaded games (like doom III) to load down the GPU to stress.

The "crispy" look on that "transistor" could be regulator and heated flux that got more brown as time goes.

Cheers, Wizard

[jpdoe]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

The FurMark application is a good way of testing GPU stability.

http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

Too bad it doesn't work with older integrated graphic chips.
But I guess it would do just fine with an fx5200.

[Bob Parker]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

Oh, hi Bob Parker!

Still using ESR meters of your design years now, own two. Saved much time and paying money at TV shop.

Next time try to use one of loaded games (like doom III) to load down the GPU to stress.

The "crispy" look on that "transistor" could be regulator and heated flux that got more brown as time goes.

Cheers, Wizard

Hi there Wizard! It's nice to know your ESR meters are still doing their job for you.

I don't have any games installed but I tried the Furmark program and it was stable though very slow.

Yeah that device has been running extremely hot ever since I installed the card a few years ago. It's an STD1703L and I finally found a data sheet for it. Yes, it's a DPAK MOSFET probably functioning as a linear regulator. Even with the new fan blowing air over it, it still gets too hot to hold my finger on it for more than a few seconds.

The FurMark application is a good way of testing GPU stability.

http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

Too bad it doesn't work with older integrated graphic chips.
But I guess it would do just fine with an fx5200.

Thanks for telling me about that. I gave it a run for 5 minutes without any problems. The GPU heatsink got warmer but not hot and the STD1703L heated up even more. I couldn't figure out how to create/read the GPU temperature log but it's not very important. Maybe the FX5200 doesn't have the ability to show its temperature.

[kc8adu]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

what series were those nichicons?
that hot mosfet is likely to blane for the cap failure.
the plating on the tab has turned colors from the heat.

[jpdoe]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

You're welcome.
I googled around, and it seems the FX5200 doesn't have a temperature sensor. At least that's what these guys say:

http://forums.nvidia.com/lofiversion...hp?t52891.html
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/arch...p/t-15223.html

[Bob Parker]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

what series were those nichicons?
that hot mosfet is likely to blane for the cap failure.
the plating on the tab has turned colors from the heat.

Yeah, the cap which failed was closest to that device. Some photos of the cap should be attached to this so you can work out what series they are...

[Bob Parker]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

You're welcome.
I googled around, and it seems the FX5200 doesn't have a temperature sensor. At least that's what these guys say:

http://forums.nvidia.com/lofiversion...hp?t52891.html
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/arch...p/t-15223.html

I appreciate your research for me.

The FX5200 is pretty old these days so I suppose it's not surprising that it doesn't have any fancy features. My >6 year old PC doesn't do anything any more graphics-intensive than running Google Earth so I'll hang onto it for a while longer.

[Krankshaft]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

The Nichicon HM bad batch curse is still in full effect I see.

The instant I saw the Nichicon logo in the first pic I knew that they were HMs. A04 so they have a 2004 manufacuring date. Right at the cutoff point when the mistake was corrected. The overfilled caps were manufacured between 2002 and 2004.

Kind of like the Samxon GF series a good company that just goofed up.

Unfortunately though they left the manufacturers to deal with the mess.

[Bob Parker]

Re: Google Earth & Bad Caps

The Nichicon HM bad batch curse is still in full effect I see.

The instant I saw the Nichicon logo in the first pic I knew that they were HMs.

Kind of like the Samxon GF series a good company that just goofed up.

All three electrolytics have been getting heated too hot to touch by other components for more than half of the last 3.5 years, but the one which burst its top was getting even hotter from being next to that discoloured MOSFET. I was amazed that they lasted this long and that the other two were still reading 0.03 ohms of ESR, especially if that series of Nichicons is known to have problems!