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QDI socket 370 motherboard Bad caps or dirt?

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    QDI socket 370 motherboard Bad caps or dirt?

    Hey all, I am in the process of putting together a "vintage" Pentium III system and picked up a QDI socket 370 motherboard.

    The individual I bought it from said it's in excellent working condition, but since I'm still in the process of collecting some necessary parts, I haven't had a chance to try to get it to post yet.

    I noticed that some of the caps around the socket appear to be either leaking or maybe just dirty (they're near where the heatsink/fan is) but I can't tell for certain. The caps are not bulging whatsoever and are as flat as could possibly be. I attached a couple pics and was wondering if anyone can help me determine if the caps might be problematic or if this is likely just grime that built up over the years.

    Thanks!
    Attached Files

    #2
    Re: Bad caps or dirt?

    Looks like corrosion from moisture / wet dust / moisty basement to me. Those are Panasonic (Matsushita) capacitors, and quite good quality. Looks like FC series (or perhaps HFQ?) Either way, no need to replace them. You can try cleaning the dirt with some IPA, if nothing else helps.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: QDI socket 370 motherboard Bad caps or dirt?

      not FC, they would be a purple/blue sleeve.

      personally i would replace them, but only because i had a ruby MCZ explode all over me once simply because the board had been unused for years and it had depolarised!
      after that i just dont like old caps regardless of make/series.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: QDI socket 370 motherboard Bad caps or dirt?

        Panasonics can stay. Instead, replace the smaller "Y" shape vent caps as they are Licon and well known to cause trouble on QDI, Zida and some PCPartner/Octek/Sapphire motherboards. I have personally had a QDI Advance 10E lock up after counting RAM or flat out refusing to POST due to it being filled with Licons (IIRC the CPU caps were Panasonic, just like yours.).
        Main rig:
        Gigabyte B75M-D3H
        Core i5-3470 3.60GHz
        Gigabyte Geforce GTX650 1GB GDDR5
        16GB DDR3-1600
        Samsung SH-224AB DVD-RW
        FSP Bluestorm II 500W (recapped)
        120GB ADATA + 2x Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB
        Delux MG760 case

        Comment


          #5
          Re: QDI socket 370 motherboard Bad caps or dirt?

          Originally posted by Dan81 View Post
          Panasonics can stay. Instead, replace the smaller "Y" shape vent caps as they are Licon and well known to cause trouble on QDI, Zida and some PCPartner/Octek/Sapphire motherboards. I have personally had a QDI Advance 10E lock up after counting RAM or flat out refusing to POST due to it being filled with Licons (IIRC the CPU caps were Panasonic, just like yours.).
          Good to know the CPU caps are likely fine.

          I'm a total noob when it comes to caps, so I am not quite sure which ones are the "Y" shape vent caps to which you're referring.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: QDI socket 370 motherboard Bad caps or dirt?

            Here's a simple breakdown of which are which: Panasonic caps are the big ones near the CPU, and the ones that need replacing are the smaller 1000uF 6.3v caps, which should very likely be marked "Licon" in some kind of gold printing. Oh, and the residue on the Panasonic caps is probably crusty dirt.

            Originally posted by momaka View Post
            Looks like corrosion from moisture / wet dust / moisty basement to me. Those are Panasonic (Matsushita) capacitors, and quite good quality. Looks like FC series (or perhaps HFQ?) Either way, no need to replace them. You can try cleaning the dirt with some IPA, if nothing else helps.
            IIRC they're FL series. That, or FLS.
            Last edited by Dan81; 09-23-2021, 12:34 PM.
            Main rig:
            Gigabyte B75M-D3H
            Core i5-3470 3.60GHz
            Gigabyte Geforce GTX650 1GB GDDR5
            16GB DDR3-1600
            Samsung SH-224AB DVD-RW
            FSP Bluestorm II 500W (recapped)
            120GB ADATA + 2x Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB
            Delux MG760 case

            Comment


              #7
              Re: QDI socket 370 motherboard Bad caps or dirt?

              Originally posted by Dan81 View Post
              IIRC they're FL series. That, or FLS.
              No.
              Old/traditional FL series have black sleeves with gold negative stripe and text.
              Newer FL series have black sleeves, but may sometimes have text and negative stripe in gray coloring.

              FLS, IIRC, is not an actual Panasonic series.

              FJS, is though... and they have the same black-gold or black-gray color as FL series. Same goes for FJ, IIRC.

              I don't remember what the FK series looked like (at least not in non-SMD form)... but those are quite rare.

              Besides, this board is too old to carry anything like FL or FJ/FJS series. Those came around later on with the Pentium 4 era, when motherboards really started needing ultra-low ESR caps. Rubycon MBZ were probably among the first ultra-low ESR series... then later on came the MCZ and custom-order MFZ series.

              Originally posted by Dan81 View Post
              Instead, replace the smaller "Y" shape vent caps as they are Licon and well known to cause trouble on QDI, Zida and some PCPartner/Octek/Sapphire motherboards.
              Good catch!
              I dismissed those as UCC when I saw the Panasonics around the CPU. But Licon does indeed fit the description too, with that "Y"-style vent. While Licon is not overly-horrible, I do agree it's a good idea to replace those - at least the ones around the RAM slots.

              Originally posted by stj View Post
              not FC, they would be a purple/blue sleeve.
              These -are- with blue sleeves... just very dark blue. I think the picture makes them appear black, but if you look carefully, you will see they are dark blue, just like normal FC and HFQ series. Era-wise, those were pretty much the only widely-available low-ESR series from Panasonic, so I don't think they could be anything else. Maybe FK, which also came around the very early 2000's. FM came out much later, I think. And FR and FS are relatively recent series.

              Originally posted by stj View Post
              personally i would replace them, but only because i had a ruby MCZ explode all over me once simply because the board had been unused for years and it had depolarised!
              A lot of the ultra-low ESR series may be unstable, IMO... but Rubycon MCZ and their twins, the MFZ series, are more so than others. In fact, I've been getting a rash of failing MFZ lately - most of them on hardware that's been stored for a long time (1-3 years) or used infrequently. I wrote about it here.
              So yes, MCZ can be problematic... though usually, they aren't, especially if they've been in use. The ones (only 2) in my Pentium 4 Dell Optiplex 170L PC that I use daily, have 1000's of hours of use (and even some abuse in hot weather), but they are still good. MFZ may actually be a little more unstable. Also, this seems to apply mostly for caps rated for 6.3V. I haven't seen many failing 16V MCZ series, and they don't seem to depolarize/break down in storage either.

              Originally posted by stj View Post
              after that i just dont like old caps regardless of make/series.
              Actually the series and type of e-cap really does matter. I find that general purpose 85C and 105C caps tend to not care much about being in storage - at least with the quality Japanese brands. With others, YMMV. Same goes for Japanese caps in the entry-level low ESR series deemed for PSU use... for the most part. A few series did have known issues with leaking from the bungs and corrosion around their leads, like Nichicon PR and certain batches of Nichicon PM and Panasonic FC series. FWIW though, those are still pretty solid. So really, it's only the ultra-low ESR series, and particularly the 6.3V rated caps from those, that may have instability issues with their electrolyte - and certainly not all series, either. For example, I find Nichicon HM, HN, and HZ made after 2005 to be quite reliable (so far, at least), while HZ made during or before 2005 are not. Rubycon MBZ is also as solid as ultra-low ESR caps get. Panasonic FL, FJ, and FJS too, overall.

              I'll take an old Japanese quality cap any day over Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean garbage at any age.
              Last edited by momaka; 09-23-2021, 02:10 PM.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: QDI socket 370 motherboard Bad caps or dirt?

                FK are purple with gold print.
                as for leaking bungs - well that describes old FC's pretty well.

                dont get me wrong - i still like panasonics - just not old ones

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Bad caps or dirt?

                  Originally posted by momaka View Post
                  Looks like corrosion from moisture / wet dust / moisty basement to me. Those are Panasonic (Matsushita) capacitors, and quite good quality. Looks like FC series (or perhaps HFQ?) Either way, no need to replace them. You can try cleaning the dirt with some IPA, if nothing else helps.
                  I tried some IPA pads then some 91% IPA but that didn't seem to do the trick. Perhaps these are just better off getting recapped in the long term?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Bad caps or dirt?

                    Originally posted by mrzmaster View Post
                    I tried some IPA pads then some 91% IPA but that didn't seem to do the trick. Perhaps these are just better off getting recapped in the long term?
                    Hmmm. I guess that has to be some kind of corrosion from exposure to moisture / temperature extremes mixed with dirt/dust that reacted a little bit with the outside of the capacitor's aluminum can. It looks just cosmetic.

                    That said, if you're going to be replacing the Licon/other electrolytic caps on the board, you might as well replace those Panny FC's too - it's just going to be a few more caps, after all. Do save the old Panasonic FC caps, though - in case you run into another (and perhaps less important) projects that might need a recap.

                    Originally posted by stj View Post
                    as for leaking bungs - well that describes old FC's pretty well.
                    I think that's mostly a "batch" thing - some did, indeed. But IME, many are still OK and probably will remains so. I also find that Panasonic caps generally tend to have more "sensitive" bungs - i.e. they don't take well to vibration and pressure on the leads, especially when the caps are hot.

                    Originally posted by stj View Post
                    dont get me wrong - i still like panasonics - just not old ones
                    I don't mind them one bit.
                    Of course, if we are talking about mission-critical hardware... then yes, it would be better to replace them. But for a retro PC build or something similar that may only see occasional and non-heavy use... probably OK to leave them.

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