baracoota wrote on 2026-05-04, 01:31:

Hopefully it doesn't take me another 1.5 years to finish this up!! Poly caps are in the mail and I'm itching to see this this in its final form! I have a purple PNY GF4 TI 4200 and a Maroon Chieftec Dragon ready to go!!! I'm motivated and will follow up with the end game update in a couple weeks (if my wife allows it)!!!

Awesome!
Great to hear you took the time to try to do the recap right. 😀

Moreover, Panasonic OSCON (formerly made by Sanyo) are some of the best polymers you can get. They have a long proved track record, so I don't imagine you'd ever need to touch the board again.

Can't wait to see the final result - that is, the entire PC build.
I myself have had a similar idea with an "all purple" build in mind, for which I have a purple Radeon 8500/9100 and several purple ECS motherboards to choose from. I even have a hot-pink/purple PSU (it's anodized red, technically... but looks more purple/pink anyways.) However, I think you have me well one-upped with that maroon Dragon case... not to mention, just its name goes so well with the motherboard.
Again, very cool stuff!
Keep us updated how it all goes (when time/wife allows 😉 ).

Quick update: Recap is complete and the KT600 Dragon Ultra Platinum and Geforce4 TI 4200 are looking and running fantastic! Almost like they were made for each other! Final build is currently in progress. The memory I got turned out to be faulty, so waiting to source another set for a decent price. Currently recapping the PSU. Theme builds require using parts I wouldn't normally trust, so doing everything I can to improve them! It makes me cringe thinking about using an Ultra branded PSU in this beauty! But it will just look sooo kool!!! Stay tuned.

baracoota wrote on 2026-05-30, 17:55:

Quick update: Recap is complete and the KT600 Dragon Ultra Platinum and Geforce4 TI 4200 are looking and running fantastic! Almost like they were made for each other! Final build is currently in progress. The memory I got turned out to be faulty, so waiting to source another set for a decent price. Currently recapping the PSU. Theme builds require using parts I wouldn't normally trust, so doing everything I can to improve them! It makes me cringe thinking about using an Ultra branded PSU in this beauty! But it will just look sooo kool!!! Stay tuned.

The colour scheme on the graphics card is simply fantastic.
Heavy sighs of envy can be heard off-screen.
No designer at the manufacturer could have got it more spot on.

On the motherboard, the colour scheme has shifted from the PСB colour to the colour of the slots.
Perhaps capacitors with black markings would have looked more natural...
PS. And who’s going to replace the remaining 36 (?) small capacitors? 😀
SEPC 470/560u×6.3 and 100u×16 (d=6.3mm) capacitors in the same colour scheme are very common.

Dang! I didn't see these Verto sticks before they sold! Would have been the icing on the cake!

I'll have to settle for the OCZ Platinums instead. They still look great!

Waiting on a few more components for the PSU recap/upgrade, but I'm getting closer to the finish line; or at least I thought I was until shevalier made me feel like I have to replace all the small caps on the motherboard now! HA Of course I went ahead and ordered more caps!!! I'm not too worried about the looks on these smaller one as I think they'll blend into the background so I'm just going for some basic electrolytic Panasonic FR series caps.

Awesome recap work! Congrats baracoota!

baracoota wrote on 2026-05-01, 18:02:

2. CPU VRM Output (The "Big" Caps) […]
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2. CPU VRM Output (The "Big" Caps)

• Quantity: 9
• Original: 3300µF 6.3V (10mm)
• Replacement: 1500µF 6.3V
• Part Number: 6SEPC1500M
• Note: Capacitance is intentionally lowered to 1500µF for VRM stability with polymers.

The original capacitance was 9 x 3300uF = 29700uF. A humongous, way beyond overkill amount of capacitance. But that's the only way to get a relatively low combined ESR using lythic caps: a whole platoon of relatively large size cans.

And a low combined ESR is what really matters for the VRM output bank of caps. The combined capacitance is more or less irrelevant, provided it stays above a critical minimum (typically 5~6000uF per CPU).

With 9x Panasonic polys of 1500uF & 10mOhm of ESR a piece, combined ESR is now 10 / 9 = 1.11 mOhm (excellent, very low combined ESR), and combined capacitance is now 13500uF (still plenty overkill, well above critical minimum).

baracoota wrote on 2026-05-01, 18:02:

3. VRM Input (12V Filter near ATX Plug) […]
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3. VRM Input (12V Filter near ATX Plug)

• Quantity: 6
• Original: 1500µF 16V (10mm)
• Replacement: 470µF 16V
• Part Number: 16SEPC470M
• Note: 10mm Diameter. Do not mix these up with the 6.3V caps!

For the VRM input bank of capacitors, high ripple current capability is most important (low ESR is also desirable here, because low ESR boosts ripple current capability. We can't get high ripple current capability without low ESR).

Those 16V 470uF Panasonic polys sport a huge 6100 mA of ripple current a piece, way better than the typical ~2500 mA of the best 16V 1500uF lythics.

So, very solid choices (pun intended 😀 ).

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baracoota wrote on 2026-06-07, 17:45:

... Waiting on a few more components for the PSU recap/upgrade ...

Please keep us updated on the PSU, geeks like here your servant love the stuff 😀 .

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Thanks for confirming that the poly conversion is adequate! I am by no means an electrical engineering expert, so its nice to have the underlying details explained! Full disclosure, I've been using AI to assist with all the all these component decisions. I wasn't an AI guy before this, but I now see the value in utilizing such a tool. Take it with a grain of salt and be sure to do your own research to confirm things, but "talking it through" with Gemini has not only been helpful, but also an enjoyable way to conduct research!

Anyway, I wasn't going to detail the PSU stuff, but if there's interest, I will. Just remember, I'm not an expert and power supplies can take out your precious hardware or worse if not handled properly. I'll save the details until after I test it without it blowing up! Until then, here's a teaser.

Nice. That YoungYear power supply is okay once the original electrolytic capacitors are gone. Protections shouldn't let overvoltage or short circuit occur.

baracoota wrote on 2026-06-08, 01:40:

... I've been using AI to assist with all the all these component decisions. I wasn't an AI guy before this, but I now see the value in utilizing such a tool. Take it with a grain of salt and be sure to do your own research to confirm things, but "talking it through" with Gemini has not only been helpful, but also an enjoyable way to conduct research! ...

^ While reading that for some reason this came to my mind 😀 ...

baracoota wrote on 2026-06-08, 01:40:

... I wasn't going to detail the PSU stuff, but if there's interest, I will ...

Here here! Please do!

baracoota wrote on 2026-06-08, 01:40:

... power supplies can take out your precious hardware or worse if not handled properly ...

^ Quite true, and worth keeping in mind at all times.

Vintage power supplies are much easier to recap than motherboards, however.

Sexy huge 200V 1000uF bulk caps in that PSU.

* BTW (just in case SHODAN hasn't already adviced on this 😀 ): Some vintage PSUs don't react well to poly-modding.

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More progress!

Motherboard is completely recapped now! Thanks for making more work for me, shevalier! HA It was a labor of love!

PSU project is also complete; however, I am now learning all about 5V/12V Group Regulation the hard way. The 5V rail is so heavy with this setup, and the 12V rail is so light, that the I'm now seeing the 12V rail pushing up to 12.8V which is in the danger zone. Its no fault of the PSU. It just wasn't built for this type of imbalance. I'm going to put a 10 Ohm power resistor on the 12V rail and that should help the PSU regulate itself properly. Anyway, at the request of TELVM, here's what I did to the "YoungYear" (amazing ID powers, DAVE86) PSU from Ultra.

Capacitor Upgrade: Replaced all capacitors with Nichicon HE /Pansonic FR caps. Sad to see the yellow go...

Surge Suppression: Installed a MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) to clamp dangerous voltage spikes from the wall outlet, a critical safety feature omitted in the original 2004 design.

Diameter Downsize: Switched to 22mm Slim Profile bulk caps (down from 25mm) to allow just enough room to mount the MOV.

Inrush Protection: Upgraded the under-spec'd NTC Thermistor to limit the current spike when the unit is first switched on.

Primary Rectification: Relocated the main Bridge Rectifier from the PCB to the Primary Heatsink, significantly lowering its operating temperature.

Secondary Rectification: Upgraded the output diodes to high-capacity Schottky Rectifiers (60A on 3.3V/5V and 40A on the 12V), ensuring stable power delivery with reduced voltage drop. Note: Glad I did this because I found a metal shaving under the 12V rectifier which had actually pierced the sil-pad, allowing a direct electrical path to the heatsink. Even though this was a NOS PSU, it was a ticking time bomb!

Getting closer to the finish line!

Wow, amazing work baracoota!

Details like adding a MOV, upgrading the thermistor, and beefing up the +5V & +3.3V rectifying diodes are the mark of a serious tinkerer.

Another option for the bridge rectifier is to DIY attach a dedicated heatsink to it:

baracoota wrote on 2026-06-14, 22:04:

... I'm going to put a 10 Ohm power resistor on the 12V rail ...

^ That might do the trick.

Awesome job, thanks for sharing!

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