Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

[dood]

Had bad caps after a few months, got an RMA under warranty. Replacement has been working for a few more months.

Edit- This one took out my antec SL-350 PSU, as well. Melted part of the ATX connector. PSU still works, but the connector is all boned up and it's hard to get it to make contact. I just need to replace it and it should be fine.

[dood]

Just a follow-up... bad caps took out the replacement board as well. I got another one on RMA, but sold it to someone else and bought a different brand. 2 boards is too much...

[dood]

Update, part 3!!!

The person I sold the 3rd board to just contacted me and let me know that the thing died the same way the first one did. Suddenly wouldn't boot up, and the yellow pin of the ATX connector is melted away. Damn you Leadtek!!! That makes 3 K7NCR18D mobos up in smoke!!!

Heres what it does to the ATX connector:

[yanz]

whaw! that caps must have been fail in such a bad way..

[dood]

All of the caps that went on the Leadtek board were "GSC" caps, however, not all the GSC caps went. A total of 9 caps are visibly bubbled.

This time, the Antec SL350 power supply is pretty far gone. It has the burn pin, and also two bubbled caps. The caps are a Fuhjyyu brand. In the first powersupply that got taken out, the caps survived and were of the Teapo brand.

Just thought I'd update

[bushytails]

Teapos fail with no visible signs...

--Randy

[Rainbow]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

It almost looks like the CPU is powered from 12V line but there's no ATX12V connector on the board. If that's true, then it's really bad board design.

[Newbie2]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

Rainbow, I looked at a picture of the K7NCR18D on the Internet and it is true, there is no ATX12V connector on the board. That thing must suck a lot of power from the +12V on the power supply's ATX connector because there is no ATX12V connector on it. I guess if you get one of these boards do a recap before putting it in service!

[rotaz]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

I had this exact same thing happen to me last week (Leadtek k7ncr18d pro running AMD Barton 3000+ on a SuperFlower PSU). Have had the board for 2/3 years without any problems until now.

Not sure exactly how many caps are stuffed (only found this site, and the solution to my problem today) but from what I remember seeing last night only the ones around the ATX connector and CPU socket.

will check it out tonight and take photos.

[dood]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

welcome rotaz. I still have one of these boards in service, my third back from RMA. I only ever bought one, and boy am I glad!

I've been keeping a close eye on it, but it's approaching a year in service, so I'd better check it again.

[rotaz]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

Thanks, nice to be here

So I've had a look at the capacitors. It's all 8 of the 1500uf 6.3V caps alongside the cpu, but also 3 of the 4 1000uf 6.3V caps by the northbridge.

GSC caps incase you're wondering.

something I've noticed, it's only the 6.3V caps that are affected. none of the higher voltage caps (eg, 2200uF 16V, also GSC) have any visible signs of dying. So, should I only worry about the 6.3V caps?

In total there are 28 x 6.3VCaps on the board. That's 15 @ 1500uF, and 13 @ 1000uF. I don't really want to replace all of them. Do you think I could get away with only replacing those by the cpu and northbridge (so 12)?

Re buying capacitors. The following sites in New Zealand may help those who are from New Zealand. (Mods, please delete these if it goes against the rules. I'm not advertising or anything, just being helpful).

Jaycar Electronics
Dick Smith Electronics

Not that they helped me much. Managed to find 1000uF 10V caps on Jaycar, but no 1500uF caps on either site. the closest would be a 2200uF. Could I get some expert advice on wether I could get away with 2200 instead of 1500?

Those solder joints look pretty damn small too.

sorry no pics yet.

[JasonT]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

Another dead Leadtek K7NCR18D, this one in Australia. Bought it in 2003 and got 2½ years good service from it, but it started displaying the usual symptoms in about December 2005, getting steadily worse. I finally diagnosed the problem early March 2006, and by now, March 30, it basically refuses to boot.

The board has at least 16 bulging caps of various sizes, all GSC.

Ironically, I intend to replace it with an ABIT board — the only manufacturer to admit fault.

[SpaceFrog]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

Thanks, nice to be here
Not that they helped me much. Managed to find 1000uF 10V caps on Jaycar, but no 1500uF caps on either site. the closest would be a 2200uF. Could I get some expert advice on wether I could get away with 2200 instead of 1500?

Not sure about 2200, but u can hook up multiple caps in parallel.

So get a 470uf and a 1000uf and u got 1470uf, that's close enuf

[gg1978]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

Heh, no wonder it burns that pin.. If you have a 70W CPU, with a VRM that's ~75% efficient at turning +12V to Vcore, you're talking 12V at roughly 8 amps through the single pin. Given that a conservative design rating for those molex pins is only 5 amps, there's just too much current going through there. Board could probably be saved by either soldering a pair of +12V leads to the bottom of the board, or perhaps by supplying 5V to the VRM, though that may not work well.

[Rainbow]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

Or replace the ATX power connector and add ATX12V connector - find a suitable place for it, connect using thick wires near the VRM and glue everything in place.

[dood]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

Or just use a better motherboard

[dood]

Re: Leadtek Winfast K7-NCR18D

Just recapped my board last night as a preventative measure. Here's what I found originally:

(13) nichicon 1500uf 6.3v
(9) nippon chemi-con 1000uf 6.3v
(6) GSC 1000uf 6.3v
(2) GSC 2200uf 16v
(2) GSC 470uf 16v

I replaced all of the GSC caps with Panny FM series caps of matching values. Those 2200uf 16v FM's are big suckers!

Here's the pics:

BEFORE







AFTER