Abit NF-M2SV recappin

[s0lid]

I've this Abit NF-M2SV board here with 4 bulged 1500uF 6.3 OSTs. Planning to recap it with couple (all OSTs must go) 470uF 6V polymer low esr caps

Pics now:



Lets see can i get this working :P

[kc8adu]

Re: Abit NF-M2SV recappin

i did one last week.
use 820@2.5 polys on vrm out.
mine had 08/27 dates on the ost's.
customer stated it was in use 6 months till it became unstable.
fill those empty spots too.

[mike-hock]

Re: Abit NF-M2SV recappin

Hi, I'm a newbie here.. I found this thread after searching the board model.

I have the same board here ( from my nephews pc ) and interestingly, the caps you list above 1500uf 6.3v and shown in the photos,
are 1800uf 6.3v on the board I have here.
A few are bulging, so all need to be changed as they're OST anyways.

The duff ones are OST 1800uf 6.3v RLZ series 22mm tall, 8mm wide.

There are a couple of 8mm tall x 5mm wide 22uf 25v G-Luxon caps that are on the outermost edge of the vrm cap row that look like one might have tipped, or maybe just inserted poorly when manufactured ( one tail is longer than the other )

I'm replacing the 1000uf 6.3v at the same time.

What's the recommendation for replacing these caps? straight forward samxon frm badcaps site, or something better?

Oh, I'm in England UK.

Mike H.

[c_hegge]

Re: Abit NF-M2SV recappin

If you want to use samxon, go with these for the 1000uF 6.3v caps. The 1800uF OSTs next to the CPU can be replaced with these or these, and the other two near the PCI-E slot with these. The TKs near the IO Ports, which I think are 1800uF 16v, can be replaced with these

[mike-hock]

Re: Abit NF-M2SV recappin

I went ahead and used Nichicon caps ( for the 1800uF )

Oh My DAYS!!!! What solder are Abit using ! ????

That stuff just did'nt want to liquify, even adding fresh to get it going.

I started out with my trusty Antex 25w solering iron and a bevel/chisel bit.. nope, not having any of it... ( although i did manage to get the neg sides of two caps out using that... positives did'nt want to know )

Took the plunge, drove the 50 mile round trip to get a 50w solder station from Maplin Electronics ( here in UK ) , fitted it with the chisel/bevel tip, cranked it up to max (450*C) and got to work.... NOPE..... did'nt want to know!
( tinning this particular models iron tip is a total nightmare, so you have to keep wiping more than normal .. typical junk )

After much faffing and holding the iron on each lead/tab way way too long for my liking, they eventually came free.
Due to the extreme effort in removing the caps, the holes did'nt want to clean up, even using a dental pick. The solder just didn't want to liquify enough to come out with some desolder braid. The best I managed through out whole process was a thick treacle state )

I ended up snipping the leads down slightly different lengths then just positioned them one by one and heated the solder tab again and wiggled the caps in, finishing with a bit more solder before snipping neatly and cleaning flux away.

All in all it took me around EIGHT hours to change NINE caps !
it should only have taken about 2 hours tops ( inc travel time )
if it wasn't for that stupid solder Abit used!

So, to sum up, I've changed all 9 1800uF caps, but have left the 100ouf ones in place, even though I have the new ones here.
It's too much hassle, when one of th eother caps goes, this board i sgoing in the bin. It's cost me more to repair it than it would have done to buy a newer better board lol

[Scenic]

Re: Abit NF-M2SV recappin

pre-heat the backside of the board with a hairdryer next time

[yyonline]

Re: Abit NF-M2SV recappin

I've redone a few of these boards since I used to use abit boards almost exclusively in builds.

The NF-M2S is an ECS made board (identical to ECS GeForce6100SM-M), so blame ECS. It's a copper heavy board and the tiny through holes make heat transfer a pain. As you mentioned, the lead free solder doesn't help.

I've never seen any of the small caps go on these boards. Issues with leaving them in place are unlikely, but not impossible.

[mike-hock]

Re: Abit NF-M2SV recappin

Ah, two well informed and excellent replies! Thanks guys!!!!