Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Corporate Espionage Leads To Faulty Motherboards

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the cowboyneal-is-too-lazy-to-make-a-dept dept.

Champs writes "If you've gotten the feeling that they really don't make 'em like they used to, you might be right. This article at IEEE Spectrum tells the story of large batches of faulty capacitors sourced from Taiwan causing motherboards to eventually fail, with an interesting twist on the reason why these capacitors failed."

4 of 234 comments (clear)

  1. Repeat! by Bios_Hakr · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is getting really old

    --
    I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
  2. More info from the guy who changes the caps by sapgau · · Score: 5, Informative

    Gary Headlee is the guy mentioned in the article who has more information on the list of boards affected:
    Motherboard Cap Replacement

  3. Re:No matter how many times I refresh.... by 1u3hr · · Score: 2, Informative
    Hey, if you read the story you will find that there is a new twist to it - as in why the caps failed.

    No, since the last time (Thursday) it referred to the same IEEE article. You're probably thinking of the time before that, in November.

  4. How to check before you buy by QDogg · · Score: 3, Informative

    It is easy enough to check this before you buy. Go up to the display case at your local computer parts retailer and ask to see XYZ motherboard that you are thinking of buying. Jot down all the markings on the electrolytic caps. Now go home and look up the datasheet for those caps. A good computer grade capacitor will have longevity of 2000 to 3000 hours or more at maximum ripple current and a temperature of 105 or 125C. Reputable brands are Panasonic HA or NHG, Rubycon, etc.

    Forget case mods, maybe we need to start modding our mainboards with better caps.