Abit BX133-RAID odd issue, bad caps?

[PeTTs0n]

Re: Abit BX133-RAID odd issue, bad caps?

just post the pics of the psu in the psu subforum, post the full model number and describe why it wont/cant work. we can try to take a crack at fixing it. some of these old enermaxes are worth repairing.

Will put it on my todo list, thanks for the encouragement.
Seller is providing a suitable replacement Chieftec unit next week - so to get at least one of the P3's running will be my first priority.
And seeing that unit is from 2002, even if it works it'll probably need a recap sooner than later too... sigh, I really should get into soldering. ^^

Snapped a photo of the Abit recap work - looks good, to an untrained eye at least.

[momaka]

Re: Abit BX133-RAID odd issue, bad caps?

It's the newer revision (80Plus Bronze certified), which uses Chemi-Con caps ("Japanese" according to Seasonic product page, Chemi-Con according to the review - might've changed brand or model since the review I guess, but I doubt there are OST's in there ) for both primary and secondary side. Fortunately. ^^
The 3.3V and 5V rails aren't extremely impressive, but should be enough if I've calculated correctly. It's not like I'm running a T-Bird system. :p

Yes, even though that's a PSU intended for 12V PCs, it should also be plenty for a Pentium 3 system.

Temps look fine when monitoring, and even if old temp sensors can be unreliable as all crap, I'm not feeling any significant heat in the vicinity of the CPU or the heatsink at all. Seeing it's a 370/462 cooler designed to handle T-Birds, it should keep the little P3 in check without an issue. ^^

Well, that's expected - it's a Pentium 3 CPU, after all. I don't think any of them go past 40W TDP. Maybe the really high-end Tualatins? But Coppermines are mid-30's Watts TDP or less. Probably even an oversized Raspberry PI heatsink can cool them in a pinch.

just post the pics of the psu in the psu subforum, post the full model number and describe why it wont/cant work. we can try to take a crack at fixing it. some of these old enermaxes are worth repairing.

Agree.
Older Enermax PSUs are built pretty well, sans the caps. The only thing that worries me a tiny bit more is that he mentioned there's a Hitachi HP3 cap. While those are good, I suspect this PSU has APFC... and hoping that whatever problem there is, it ain't with the APFC, because that can be a PITA to troubleshoot. But if it's just the output caps gone bad (more than likely this is the case, especially if they are CEC / PCE-TUR garbage), then this should be a much easier repair.

And seeing that unit is from 2002, even if it works it'll probably need a recap sooner than later too... sigh, I really should get into soldering. ^^

Yes, you should.

For a $20 gamble, you can get a decent T12 iron (something like a KSGER) and solder like a pro.

Snapped a photo of the Abit recap work - looks good, to an untrained eye at least.

Yup, looks good on the top side.

yes, i can! maybe i should get myself a car like a volvo! that should resolve my hypocondriac whimp issues with contracting covid-19 on public transport. lol!

Probably going a bit too far off-topic here, but I actually wonder if SG would even allow something like an old Volvo to be driven there. I'm pretty sure you guys have stricter emissions laws there than we do here in the US.

Otherwise, I'd definitely suggest you go for the older boxy ones from the 80's or the 90's (i.e. 240, 740, 940, 950, 960.) Get one with a manual gearbox and maybe soon we will see Fast and Furious: Singapore Drift next

[PeTTs0n]

Re: Abit BX133-RAID odd issue, bad caps?

Yes, even though that's a PSU intended for 12V PCs, it should also be plenty for a Pentium 3 system.

I was thinking that as well - sure, voltage regulation on minor rails today aren't the highest priority, but they shouldn't be totally out of spec from the (relatively) light load of a Cumine or Tualatin system either.

Past few weeks have been testing (way more hours than I'd like) with the MSI 694T Pro, and I can't really draw any other conclusions than some unspecified error with the motherboard. I've ended up trying four different PSUs (along with a period-correct, albeit unrecapped, Chieftec HPC-360-202), 6 different graphics cards, 3 different CPUs - and I've gotten it to run with the S12II PSU and a PCI graphics card, once. After having swapped components for days on end of testing, the same config refuses to boot now.

The PSUs and other components work fine in other rigs, so I'm throwing in the towel with that board. Shame, seeing I had it recapped along with the Abit board I thought I'd have tested by now.

I was dumb enough to order a replacement (QDI Advance 10T), so I'll probably make a thread about that - bit unclear as to what caps on it are worth replacing, but I intend to try and get this one as right as possible.

Agree.
Older Enermax PSUs are built pretty well, sans the caps. The only thing that worries me a tiny bit more is that he mentioned there's a Hitachi HP3 cap. While those are good, I suspect this PSU has APFC... and hoping that whatever problem there is, it ain't with the APFC, because that can be a PITA to troubleshoot. But if it's just the output caps gone bad (more than likely this is the case, especially if they are CEC / PCE-TUR garbage), then this should be a much easier repair.

I took some (not gonna win prices for my photography either, with my phone camera, but oh well ) photos of it - I didn't want to pull it apart more right now.
Photos on Imgur
I'm unlikely to put any real effort, money or time into it - will probably try giving it away to someone who can give it a new lease on life.
Is it worth making a thread about?

When plugging it into a PSU tester, pretty much nothing happens, maybe a very, very brief flicker of light on the display, but nothing else. No fans spinning, no result shown on the PSU tester at all.

When plugged into a PC (tried the P3 - it'd be ironic if the PSU caused the death of the board), power LED lights up when trying to power it on, but absolutely nothing else.

Yes, you should.

For a $20 gamble, you can get a decent T12 iron (something like a KSGER) and solder like a pro.

Living in a 1.5 room apartment isn't exactly ideal for a soldering station setup, retro PCs and equipment fill up space enough as it is. Might try to get it sorted, some day.

Yup, looks good on the top side.

Noticed some weird discoloration on the backside of the board by the solder joints - normal?
See attached photos. (Disclaimer: haven't actually tested the board yet - that damn MSI board is haunting me right now.)

Probably going a bit too far off-topic here, but I actually wonder if SG would even allow something like an old Volvo to be driven there. I'm pretty sure you guys have stricter emissions laws there than we do here in the US.

Otherwise, I'd definitely suggest you go for the older boxy ones from the 80's or the 90's (i.e. 240, 740, 940, 950, 960.) Get one with a manual gearbox and maybe soon we will see Fast and Furious: Singapore Drift next

Seeing how common the boxy ones are here (and how abused they are by kids turning them into joyriding crapvans), I kinda have a love-hate relationship with them. Found the designs appealing as a kid, but now... maybe in a few years they'll be retro enough to be cool.

Again, thanks for all of the input and effort - I love learning more about this stuff.

[momaka]

Re: Abit BX133-RAID odd issue, bad caps?

Past few weeks have been testing (way more hours than I'd like) with the MSI 694T Pro, and I can't really draw any other conclusions than some unspecified error with the motherboard. I've ended up trying four different PSUs (along with a period-correct, albeit unrecapped, Chieftec HPC-360-202), 6 different graphics cards, 3 different CPUs - and I've gotten it to run with the S12II PSU and a PCI graphics card, once. After having swapped components for days on end of testing, the same config refuses to boot now.

Must be a bad solder joint, contact, or out-of-spec (but not too far off) component somewhere causing this. Small chance it may also be the CMOS (not BIOS) chip too. At least I believe that is what is messing with my ASUS CUR-DLS. It always powers on and goes through the POST screen, but then hangs afterwards no matter what, and I cannot get into CMOS. If CMOS is bad on yours too, that can be causing all sorts of intermittent issues as well.

The PSUs and other components work fine in other rigs, so I'm throwing in the towel with that board. Shame, seeing I had it recapped along with the Abit board I thought I'd have tested by now.

Yeah, there's only so much you can do to try to fix an issue. It's unfortunate the board didn't want to come back to life.

I was dumb enough to order a replacement (QDI Advance 10T), so I'll probably make a thread about that - bit unclear as to what caps on it are worth replacing, but I intend to try and get this one as right as possible.

Sometimes I get a feeling that the harder I try to get something "as right as possible", the more the device resists and doesn't want to work right, lol. So I hope we don't jinx this one.

I took some (not gonna win prices for my photography either, with my phone camera, but oh well ) photos of it - I didn't want to pull it apart more right now.
Photos on Imgur

Argh, IMGUR again.
It doesn't load images properly for me half the time, and right now I'm seeing none (as such, I don't even bother to try to open IMGUR links most of the time anymore.)
Sorry I can't tell you anything about the PSU at this time.

Is it worth making a thread about?

If you intent to post pictures, then YES.
Just upload pictures to badcaps.net rather than off-side. Pretty please.

Also, if you don't intend to fix the PSU, then instead of creating a new thread, you can just post your pictures in the thread linked below as a reference to the build quality of the PSU:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7335

... and you could post some questions regarding your PSU in that thread as well. But if you do decide to fix the PSU and have questions regarding that, then create a new thread for it to get more attention and focused discussion.

When plugging it into a PSU tester, pretty much nothing happens, maybe a very, very brief flicker of light on the display, but nothing else. No fans spinning, no result shown on the PSU tester at all.

When plugged into a PC (tried the P3 - it'd be ironic if the PSU caused the death of the board), power LED lights up when trying to power it on, but absolutely nothing else.

Sounds like the 5VSB circuit is working but the main PS is not.

Living in a 1.5 room apartment isn't exactly ideal for a soldering station setup, retro PCs and equipment fill up space enough as it is.

Ideal? -No. But if you are a pack rat (or a "master hoarder" ), you could pull it off.

Though, I imagine by "1.5 room apartment" you mean European size/dimensions and not like an "average" room in a house/apartment in Texas, or some other State "in the middle of nowhere". So you may be right that it's not possible / practical.

Noticed some weird discoloration on the backside of the board by the solder joints - normal?

Looks normal to me.
Can't tell if it's leftover flux residue or PCB coating darkened from the soldering iron, but neither of these are detrimental to the board operation.

I've darkened some of my motherboards like that too - mostly the ones with thicker copper planes that took more heat to get the old caps out.

Other than that, the soldering of the replacement caps looks good on your board.

Seeing how common the boxy ones are here (and how abused they are by kids turning them into joyriding crapvans), I kinda have a love-hate relationship with them. Found the designs appealing as a kid, but now... maybe in a few years they'll be retro enough to be cool.

Funny, I was the opposite. When I was a kid and we had one, I used to think they are too boxy and dare I say even ugly. But as the years passed, I actually find that boxy design quite retro and refreshing now, given how everything is so curvy and "mean-looking" lately. If my current car croaks (old Focus), the boxy Volvos are one of the top-5 options on the list of cars to get as a replacement.

[momaka]

Re: Abit BX133-RAID odd issue, bad caps?

Argh, IMGUR again.
It doesn't load images properly for me half the time, and right now I'm seeing none (as such, I don't even bother to try to open IMGUR links most of the time anymore.)
Sorry I can't tell you anything about the PSU at this time.

OK, the images loaded for me now.

From what I can see, this is a pretty decent oldschool PSU.
No APFC, but that makes the primary side more reliable, at least.
Unit main PS appears to use a forward-converter design (not sure if single-transistor or double, but it looks like only one transistor attached to the primary heatsink, so probably the former.)
Can't tell much about the 5VSB - might be a 2-transistor design or it might use an IC. I couldn't see from the pictures.

There doesn't seem to be any bad capacitors, at least visually. But those CEC (PCE-TUR/TUK/TUL) caps on the secondary should be suspect, given their age - especially the smaller ones. On that note, the issue of the PSU could also be a simple as a bad startup cap.

That's all I can tell so far.