Resistor fell off Graphics Card

[BlackZero]

I have had a long running issue with my Radeon HD 6950 showing glitched temperature readings at times, so I was going through the water cooling connections/Block setup when it seems one of the attached components came off of the PCB. I had a closer look and it seems to have been originally glued on or such as the bottom part had a plastic casing that attached to the PCB with two connectors that come through the bottom casing. Seemed like an easy fix.

In any case I thought I'd see if the PC comes on first, as it's water cooled, and I would only really want to take it all apart as a last resort. To my surprise it came on straight away and I am in fact making this post using it. I am now considering leaving it off if everything is functioning correctly. Though as I am unable to identify the component I am also not sure of it's importance.

The component reads 'K001 100 16v' on it's upper side and has a blue side marking. Here's an image of the PCB with the detached component highlighted.

[de.das.dude]

its a capacitor. shouldnt be much of an issue.

its a 100uF(micro farad) 16Volt capacitor.

anyways you can get a replacement from the market and solder it on. but i suggest you have someone more capable do it.

[Jstn7477]

It's a capacitor, and might be connected in parallel to the adjacent one on the same circuit. Not having the capacitor there may cause more ripple on that circuit which could reduce the lifespan of the components. Would I be too worried about it? Probably not. The engineers place over-rated capacitors on components to address capacitor degradation, so if there is another one on that circuit the card might be fine for a while, or even a long time.

[redeye]

dont worry... the fact it fell off means that it was not installed correctly at the factory (that is if you didn't break it off...)

kinda a pain cause it sounds like you could have RMA'd it due to manufacturing fault... if the card is still in warranty.. try a RMA... can't hurt... they will tell you if if will cost you... but you might get a new card out of it, for shipping.

[BlackZero]

Originally Posted by de.das.dude

its a capacitor. shouldnt be much of an issue.

its a 100uF(micro farad) 16Volt capacitor.

anyways you can get a replacement from the market and solder it on. but i suggest you have someone more capable do it.

Thanks for the clarification. Not too accustomed to electronic repairs so probably will leave it to someone more experienced. It doesn't seem to be broken as such, just seems to have come off as the connectors are visible and in good shape from what I can tell.

Originally Posted by Jstn7477

It's a capacitor, and might be connected in parallel to the adjacent one on the same circuit. Not having the capacitor there may cause more ripple on that circuit which could reduce the lifespan of the components. Would I be too worried about it? Probably not. The engineers place over-rated capacitors on components to address capacitor degradation, so if there is another one on that circuit the card might be fine for a while, or even a long time.

Thank you for the detailed response.

I am assuming from the responses that I could possibly leave it for now and perhaps consider having the capacitor put back on when I next remove the card?

Originally Posted by redeye

dont worry... the fact it fell off means that it was not installed correctly at the factory (that is if you didn't break it off...)

kinda a pain cause it sounds like you could have RMA'd it due to manufacturing fault... if the card is still in warranty.. try a RMA... can't hurt... they will tell you if if will cost you... but you might get a new card out of it, for shipping.

I would say it fell off due to fault on my part, as I possibly accidentally knocked it off. The cleanliness of the break does suggest, at least to me, that it might have been not connected that well in the first place though. Also my card is water cooled and unfortunately the card's manufacturer (XFX) doesn't provide warranty after heatsink removal.

[Frick]

You have an electronics repair shop where you live? Where they service TV's and stuff? They can put it back in a jiffy (probably).

[largon]

It's a ripple filter capacitor filtering the input 12V of the vDDCI VRM that feeds the GPU's memory controller. That cap is parallel to the cap marked as "C916". Card works fine without it, but your GPU's memory controller is getting dirtier power if it's not connected.

This is easy to repair for someone who has the equipment and knows what he's doing. Any electronics repair shop can put it back in a few mins for you for pocket change.

[de.das.dude]

i wouldnt worry much if you already have a good Power supply. the good power supplies filter out a lot of the nipple.

[newtekie1]

Originally Posted by BlackZero

Unfortunately the card's manufacturer (XFX) doesn't provide warranty after heatsink removal.

They do actually provide a warranty if you use watercooling, however you have to contact them and get approval to remove the heatsink and use watercooling so they can make a note in your account that you have removed the heatsink.

There warranty coverage can be found here: http://xfxforce.com/en-us/help/suppo...formation.aspx

And the important part is:

** XFX has carefully selected the optimal thermal or fansink component for your graphics card model. We do not encourage the removal of components due to damage that may result in the process. XFX understands that some enthusiasts may choose to replace the original component with their own cooling solution. To support the gaming community, we recommend that you contact XFX prior to any modifications so that we can update your profile and product registration to avoid potential issues with warranty support. In addition, XFX support will be able to walk through the installation with you or provide feedback and pointers on available options for your specific product. You may even consider shipping your components to XFX and allow the technicians at XFX to perform the modification for you (shipping charges to XFX apply).

However, the problem is that I've heard they won't cover components falling off if the heatsink has been removed. They assume that is user error and the component fell of due to the user removing the heatsink.

I know this doesn't really help with the cap falling off, but I just wanted to let you know for future reference that XFX does actually support removing the heatsink.

[BlackZero]

Originally Posted by Frick

You have an electronics repair shop where you live? Where they service TV's and stuff? They can put it back in a jiffy (probably).

None that I can think of in close proximity, and none that I know to trust. I will have to ask around I suppose.

Originally Posted by largon

It's a ripple filter capacitor filtering the input 12V of the vDDCI VRM that feeds the GPU's memory controller. That cap is parallel to the cap marked as "C916". Card works fine without it, but your GPU's memory controller is getting dirtier power if it's not connected.

This is easy to repair for someone who has the equipment and knows what he's doing. Any electronics repair shop can put it back in a few mins for you for pocket change.

Thank you for detailed response. I'm assuming dirtier power means the controller may be less stable?

Originally Posted by de.das.dude

i wouldnt worry much if you already have a good Power supply. the good power supplies filter out a lot of the nipple.

Thanks. I have one of the better power supplies (AX850). This was very helpful.

Originally Posted by newtekie1

They do actually provide a warranty if you use watercooling, however you have to contact them and get approval to remove the heatsink and use watercooling so they can make a note in your account that you have removed the heatsink.

There warranty coverage can be found here: http://xfxforce.com/en-us/help/suppo...formation.aspx

And the important part is:



However, the problem is that I've heard they won't cover components falling off if the heatsink has been removed. They assume that is user error and the component fell of due to the user removing the heatsink.

I know this doesn't really help with the cap falling off, but I just wanted to let you know for future reference that XFX does actually support removing the heatsink.

Thanks for the detailed response. I did in fact contact XFX when I first put the water block on but they refused to honour the warranty if the original heatsink was removed. Perhaps they are more lenient in north America.

[de.das.dude]

just realies i have a typo in my last post. but i will leave it there for the lulz

also glad to be of help

[BlackZero]

I didn't even notice the typo until you pointed it out.

[itsakjt]

I would have got it soldered and fixed before powering it on.
Sometimes, popped out or faulty capacitors can take out MOSFETs. Some MOSFETs and even ICs have very small ripple tolerance and that ripple can damage them. I remember my Philips radio sound driver IC was fried as a capacitor connecting to it was bulged out and obviously out of service. So I suggest you better fix it and then reconnect the card.

[de.das.dude]

that is different leaking capacitors often short circuits and cause high currents.

[Pehla]

any tv mechanic shop can fix that in sec!!! i had broken elektrolite on my hd 6950 and the part was so small that mechanic needed to use (biiig thing that makes part bee seen biger)
and he just replace it in 1 minute!! done ...dont play with ur card if that part is not fixed!

[xBruce88x]

Originally Posted by de.das.dude

i wouldnt worry much if you already have a good Power supply. the good power supplies filter out a lot of the nipple.

What!? Filters out the nipple? Well I guess I'm throwing in my old POS power supply for the Pr0nz

Seriously though, very informative thread this one. Nice to know that some components on a GPU aren't critical if you have a good PSU.

and yea... any TV repair shop should be able to fix that no prob.