Sort of general capacitor questions

[JimG]

I am only working on motherboards and LCD monitors.

1) Are the Rubycon MBZ and MCZ interchangeable? From what I have read here so far the MCZ is the best one but are the MBZ's good enough?

2) Does the physical size of the capacitor matter as long as they physically fit?

Two examples of what I am looking to do:

A) Replace Nichicon HN(M) 820uf 6.3v 8mm x 20mm with Rubycon MBZ 8mm x 23mm

B) Replace Nichicon HN(M) 1500uf 6.3v 10mm x 13mm with Rubycon MBZ 8mm x 20mm.

Thanks for any help!

[yyonline]

Re: Sort of general capacitor questions

You can replace MBZ with MCZ, since MCZ is rated better than MBZ. The reverse is not always doable.

Let's look at what you want to do.

A) Replace Nichicon HN(M) 820uf 6.3v 8mm x 20mm with Rubycon MBZ 8mm x 23mm

This is probably okay. HN is equivalent to MCZ. But, the MBZ in question here is physically bigger, so the larger size makes up for the difference in ESR and ripple.

I have seen the 8x20mm 6.3V 820uF HN and 8x23mm 6.3V 820uF MBZ used interchangeably on Intel boards.

However, that size of MBZ is an oddball size. It exists, but it next to impossible to find. My suspicion is that it was a custom order for Intel, as I have only seen them on Intel boards. Where are you getting these 6.3 V 820 uF MBZ from? If you're re-using used capacitors it is not advised due to the fact that they reform and may no longer perform at their originally rated voltage.

B) Replace Nichicon HN(M) 1500uf 6.3v 10mm x 13mm with Rubycon MBZ 8mm x 20mm.

Let's look at the specs for HN and MBZ here.

HN specs for 10x12.5mm - ESR: 18 mohm Ripple: 1760 mA
MBZ specs for 8x20mm - ESR: 19 mohm Ripple: 1870 mA

So yes, the specs are close enough that this replacement will work. However, this again doesn't appear to be a standard size for 6.3V 1500uF MBZ based on the datasheet.

Rubycon capacitors are sometimes the target of counterfeiters. If you'd like assistance determining if yours are genuine, feel free to post some pictures of them from the sides, top, and bottom.

[ratdude747]

Re: Sort of general capacitor questions

one note on mcz (or any other caps):

DO NOT BUY YOUR CAPS ON EBAY!!!! MOST are fake!!! there is one seller that is SUPPOSEDLY legit, but i still would avoid ebay.

reason i say is i remember topcat (the admin) getting some from a customer from ebay there were horrifically bad fakes. figured i better get this out of the way before anybody screws up...