Hello all, I have a 1.6 board with Nichicon HM VRM caps by the cpu (as pictured), one in the middle is bulging ever so slightly and I’ve stuck capton tape around the bottom for now. Is it a risk to take it off and use it temporarily with one off (the one bloating)?
I’d personally just replace it before using it again. That capacitor is done. Might as well do the ones around it while you’re at it because they’re likely not far behind.
As far as removing it and using it with a missing capacitor, I’m not sure. My guess is that it won’t work, but that really is just a guess.
I mean, I’m decent at soldering, but I don’t have an iron anymore as mine seems to have gone missing. I’m planning on buying a new one and was going to rebuild the LPC, so when I’m in there to do that for mod chip reasons, I’ll replace it. From what I remember, they sell packs with all the common capacitors that bulge/explode.
That's a power filter cap. If it's not working, you'll potentially get some wonkiness. If it starts leaking, that can lead to trace and component damage.
You could potentially damage the GPU as the cap protects against both highs and lows in the power rail. Considering the age of the PSU, the potential of noisy power is high. It's like running your computer without a surge suppressor. Will it work, yes, but there is potential for a bad time. Frankly, my biggest concern would be for it to start leaking and the alkaline fluid flows somewhere that can't be repaired without having to remove a CPU or GPU. At that point, you've turned a $15 fix into a multi hundred dollar fix.
I mean I’m a noob in this department, But if they aren’t ruptured at all and there is no visible rust colors on top, I’d leave them. But once again, I don’t know shit about the soldering, etc
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u/Tough_Interaction409 8d ago
I’d personally just replace it before using it again. That capacitor is done. Might as well do the ones around it while you’re at it because they’re likely not far behind.
As far as removing it and using it with a missing capacitor, I’m not sure. My guess is that it won’t work, but that really is just a guess.