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Gigabyte GA-7ZXE recapping

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Reply 20 of 20, by shevalier

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Mike_ wrote on 2026-05-20, 18:12:
Nichicon HMs were a defective series, though. :) […]
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shevalier wrote on 2026-05-20, 04:14:
With a Duron Spitfire processor (TDP around 30 W) and Word in the office? It worked absolutely perfectly. […]
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With a Duron Spitfire processor (TDP around 30 W) and Word in the office? It worked absolutely perfectly.

When I can’t be bothered to do the calculations (which is always the case), I resort to the scientific method of ‘studying previous solutions’—I just look at the pictures.
ASUS A7N8X
The best of the worst (yep, ASUS still hasn’t switched the CPU power supply to +12V) motherboards based on the very latest chipset. By this point, motherboard manufacturers have studied all the platform’s nuances and analysed the RMA.
And all the fastest processors have been released.
fetch?id=2136973
3300u*6.3V nichicon HM
2.8A rated current, ESR 12 mOhm
https://www.nichicon.co.jp/english/products/pdf/e-hm.pdf
3 at the entrance to the VRM and 5 at the exit.
But that didn’t save them 😀

Nichicon HMs were a defective series, though. 😀

Anyways, I put in two more similar Panasonic caps at the empty spots. They are rated at 2.18A ripple current, so in total the caps should be able to deal with about 8A, quite close to that Asus board. I guess it somewhat reduced ripple voltage in the input stage.

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Around 1V at the 5V VRM input – that’s not bad, really.

If the capacitors aren’t getting hot either, then that’s absolutely fine.

Aopen MX3S, PIII-S Tualatin 1133, Radeon 9800Pro@XT BIOS, Audigy 4 SB0610
JetWay K8T8AS, Athlon DH-E6 3000+, Radeon HD2600Pro AGP, Audigy 2 Value SB0400
Gigabyte Ga-k8n51gmf, Turion64 ML-30@2.2GHz , Radeon X800GTO PL16, Diamond monster sound MX300