Are these the right caps?

So I've got this AM2 motherboard that needs some new caps and I'm considering taking a shot at fixing it myself. I've got it listed in the classifieds, but nobody seems interested. I've replaced caps on an LCD inverter before but I've never replaced any on a motherboard. This would be a good learning experience for me, and I have no use for the motherboard right now so it won't be a major loss if I destroy it.

Anyways, I've got pics of the caps in the classifieds listing here:

And I found these caps on Digi-Key.

Can someone with a little experience replacing caps help me verify that these are the right ones? Thanks!

Well first of all, that's non-stock item with a minimum quantity 800, so you'll be replacing a lot of caps .

In general, when looking for replacement caps, you want
1) Equal or higher voltage rating
2) Same capacitance
3) Physically fits

High voltage/high capacitance caps are bigger, so you can't just replace them all with 2000V rated caps. It will work electrically, but they will be the size of flashlight batteries.

It's ok to replace electrolytic (the kind that bulges) with aluminum polymer for higher reliability/performance, but that's a little more expensive.

If you list the specs (capacitance, voltage, approximate diameter) I can help you find one as an example.

cyberfish said:

If you list the specs (capacitance, voltage, approximate diameter) I can help you find one as an example.

Click to expand...

I was wondering if I could use caps rated higher than the ones that are there. Thanks for clarifying that for me.

The caps that are bad say KZG 3000uF 6.3V and they are about 10mm in diameter and 23mm tall.

Sorry I forgot - another important parameter is lead spacing (distance between holes on the underside).

I'm assuming you meant 3300uF, since 3000 is not a E24 number (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E24_series#E_series).

Since the diameter is 10mm, I'd guess it's something like this.
http://search.digikey.com/ca/en/products/ECA-0JM332/P5117-ND/244976

There is no through-hole polymer capacitor for this capacitance (polymer caps are usually lower capacitance, and 3300uF is very big), but if it's something like 1000uF and below, there would be polymer caps to choose from, too. Like this one -
http://search.digikey.com/ca/en/products/RR70J102MDN1/493-3710-ND/2207246

Yea they are 3300uF sorry. Those look about right. They look shorter than the ones on the board but the seem to have the same specs. If I got caps with a higher Voltage rating would they be more durable?

Capacitor durability depends on a lot of things. In general, yes, higher voltage = more durable.

Temperature also plays a huge part. If you have good airflow and high quality caps, reliability shouldn't be a problem. For example, the cap I linked is rated for 2000 Hrs @ 85C @ rated voltage (6.3V). If you are interested in what that means or how they are tested, the datasheet has more information.

After applying rated working voltage for 2000 hours at +85°C±2 °C, when the capacitors are restored to 20 °C, capacitors shall meet the following limits.
Capacitance change ±20% of initial measured value
tan δ <150% of initial specified value
DC leakage current <initial specified value

Click to expand...

Those should be fine. My case isn't anywhere near 84C. Thanks for your help with finding those!

I was looking at these two capacitors...

http://search.digikey.com/ca/en/products/ECA-0JM332/P5117-ND/244976

http://search.digikey.com/ca/en/products/ECA-0JHG332/P5511-ND/245110

And I noticed that they are basically the same but they have a different "ripple current." Is ripple current something that I need to worry about?