Capacitors

I took my graphics card out for cleaning. I'm embarrassed to say that, due to my clumsy re-insertion, two capacitors have broken off the motherboard. Not expecting the machine to boot up, I was relieved when it did and seems to be in full working order.

Should I be concerned about the capacitors - what do you imagine might happen over time in their absence?

 

I am amazed it booted let alone that it appears to be working fine. That leads me to believe (okay, guess) they are some sort of filter capacitors. I suspect more still exist on the card (because there usually are several) still providing some filtration and/or isolation from EMI/RFI.

Since you do not see any degradation in your display, that then leads me to believe you do not have much in the way of EMI/RFI problems where your computer is physically located. That is, it is not sitting near a big motor or compressor, microwave or cell tower, or another large electronics device like a radio, TV, or another computer that may be poorly shielded and emitting excessive EMI/RFI. And/or your computer case is doing a good job of blocking/isolating/suppressing the innards from EMI/RFI. And/or your computer's ground has a good path to Earth ground. And all that is good.

"IF" that is the case, then I don't see any problems arising in the future "IF" everything else remains the same.

In other words, if you move your computer to a different location, if you lose good computer grounds or good continuity to Earth ground, or if some other damage occurs with any of your computer components, or if another electronics device comes in close proximity to your computer or this card, you may start to see problems arise, such as artifacts or other anomalies in the display.

In any case, I do not see this becoming a shock hazard.

I am however, puzzled how these broke off. Even if you were all thumbs handling the card, those caps should have been securely soldered to the card. If they were mounted snug to the surface of the card, you would almost need a chisel to break them loose. If they were raised a bit off the card (for heat dissipation), instead of breaking, the leads should have simply bent the cap over - unless some extreme forces were exerted. Did that happen?

Otherwise, I would suspect they were not properly soldered into the card at the factory and I would be concerned other components on the card may not have been either.

As a technician, I would probably pull the card and carefully examine all the solder joints (from the underside of the printed circuit board) to make sure they were good. If not, then I would touch them up with my soldering pencil. But that's me.

If you are not comfortable doing that, then I say just leave it since the card appears to be working fine - for now. But if problems arise, you may want to consider doing that.

 

I have to confess that brute force is probably nearer to the truth than clumsiness employed during the card 'insertion'. I'm going to learn how to remove the board, buy new caps and take it to a local boffin for soldering.

 

Your motherboard user manual is where to look for instructions on removing (and inserting) the card. There is usually a small locking lever on the slot you have to release to remove, then ensure it clicks into place (locks) when inserting a card. And yes, some brute force is often needed, but on the edges of the PCB (printed circuit board), not the mounted components.

Unless you are certain you can find some exact compatible replacements using the labeling numbers found on those components, and if you want to repair the card, I might suggest you take it to your trusted tech and let him or her research the correct parts then they order them. Then it is on them to ensure they get the correct ones.

However, again, since these caps out of the circuit are not creating a hazard (to you or the computer) and since you say it appears to still be working properly, I'm not sure I would worry about it.

You never stated the specs for this card, but most shops charge a minimum fee based on 1/2 hour or even 1 hour of labor, even for a 5 minute job. Depending on the value of this card, it may not be economically feasible to have it repaired and instead, wiser to just look at replacing the card.

You might look at this as being an opportunity to "upgrade" your computer with a better graphics solution. Just make sure your power supply can support it.

 

Whatever may be broken is something that I don't use - maybe the second monitor socket or other input sockets. 36 hours after the event and no effects from the trauma so far. I'm going to pluck up the courage to learn how to remove the board and get those caps replaced ASAP.

Thanks very much for your time and knowledge.

 

If you are planning to be your own first-tier tech support, it is a good idea to be familiar with how to install and remove components.

But I'll say this again, then leave you alone - you are not going to get zapped by this board. Your computer is not going to get zapped by this board. The card is not going to suddenly overheat and burst into flames because those caps are no longer there. You said so yourself, you can see no degradation of the video display.

That convinces me these caps are just part of the filter circuit, designed to block unwanted interference that might affect some users in their particular environment. You clearly do NOT appear to be in such an electronic "noisy" environment.

Unless you see some issues with this card, I would not bother spending money getting it fixed.

Now obviously, I don't have the card in front of me to do a proper technical inspection. But you can see via the link in my signature that I might know a little about electronics.

If you just really want to have it repaired for peace of mind, that's fine. I just don't want you to feel you must get it fixed out of concern it is now some sort of safety hazard. It is not. That's one of the advantages of electronics running with low voltage DC power. Now if these caps fell out of the power supply - where deadly AC voltages exist - that would be a totally different story. But this is a graphics card where the highest voltage is just +12VDC.

 

Thanks for that great advice. Since I posted last, my PS2 keyboard lights have flickered occasionally and the repeat rate for each stroke is very slow, so I've got myself a new USB one and it's flying. I'm going to learn how to remove the motherboard and take it to my local fixer for new caps.

 

Assuming you meant to say graphics card and not motherboard, then suit yourself. Have a good day.

 

It was the motherboard caps that were damaged by the force of the descending graphics card.

 

Doh! Sorry, after re-reading your opening post, motherboard is what you said. Not sure where I got that mixed up. How the caps were knocked off makes much more sense to me now. Sorry if my confusion caused you to be confused.

That said, pretty much everything I said still applies. These appear to be part of the motherboard's filter circuits - which typically contain several pairs of caps. And with you reporting no apparent issues, the other caps are providing sufficient filtration - and that is good. I suspect you have a pretty clean and stable power grid, and a decent power supply delivering pretty clean power to the motherboard. All good too.

Again, there is no danger of you getting zapped or your board bursting into flames.

Sorry again for my mix up.

 

Excellent - thanks very much once again for your thoughtful advice and for your time.