Conclusion

Rien ne va plus in case of a motherboard failure. This is especially annoying if the costs for substitute parts are only in the cent-range, which typically is the case with leaked capacitors.

Although the motherboard makers increasingly use solid capacitors, flawed electrolyte capacitors are still one of the main reasons for defective motherboards. In a worst case scenario, you should consider your next steps carefully: Even if your product is still covered by the warranty period, your retailer might not be able to replace the broken motherboard instantly. Reasons might be that he is simply out of spare parts or because he insists on not applying warranty, since the capacitors were most likely intact when purchased. Exchanging your motherboard might entail undesired additional costs for the purchase of a new processor and new RAM.

But wait - there is another way: If you know for sure that malfunction is caused by flawed capacitors, hobbyists and enthusiasts can try to revive the motherboard by single-handedly exchanging leaked or broken capacitors. The cost of our project added up to £10 / €15. If you are a little talented in handicraft and dispose of the appropriate tools, you might as well save that three-digit sum of replacing the board, the processor and the memory. And these savings do not only apply to motherboards: Exchanging defective capacitors is possible on graphics cards as well.

Really talented hobbyists can exchange several capacitors in less than an hour, since the work process is not that complex - provided that you have the right tools. Less experienced users might fail because they lack the appropriate tools. In this case, why don't you try your local radio and TV technician? If the thought of soldering your motherboard is simply unbearable for you, just consider one thing: practically, the motherboard is already dead. Why not give it a try?

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