Capacitors are widely used in motherboard circuits. Open the chassis and observe the motherboard. You can see a large number of electrolytic capacitors. It is an indispensable and important component in the power supply circuit of computer systems. All kinds of boards and chipsets on the motherboard need to use multiple types of voltage power sources, such as +12, -12, +5, -5 volts, etc. The stable operation of the motherboard and board requires capacitors to filter the power supply to ensure voltage stability. Of course, in the CPU power supply circuit, the capacitor plays a key role in improving the power quality. Next, the supercapacitor manufacturer will give you a detailed introduction to the working principle of the capacitor.
Two types of electrolytic capacitors are mainly used on boards such as computer motherboards and graphics cards: aluminum electrolytic capacitors and tantalum electrolytic capacitors. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors are inexpensive and have large capacity, and are mainly used for power supply filtering. The performance of tantalum electrolytic capacitors is better than aluminum electrolytic capacitors, but the price is higher. All along, such as the unstable operation of the system, the flower screen, the inability to boot, the crash after overclocking and many problems of the motherboard are inextricably linked with the liquid electrolytic capacitor. The liquid aluminum electrolytic capacitor leaks, short life and other defects are also criticized by computer players. In order to make the motherboard stable and efficient, the use of solid aluminum electrolytic capacitors usually plays a key role, and it can play a major role in some motherboards that are inherently inadequate.
Among all types of capacitors, only aluminum electrolytic capacitors have life problems. Under the premise of ensuring the quality of the capacitor, high temperature and overpressure are important factors that cause the failure of the liquid electrolytic capacitor. The operating temperature of a liquid electrolytic capacitor is reduced by more than half for every 10 degrees Celsius increase in operating temperature. The heat of the capacitor comes from the heat dissipated by the motherboard and other boards, which is caused by the working environment. This heat transfer can be reduced by improving the heat dissipation measures. On the other hand, there is a resistance due to the electrolyte of the capacitor, and a current is generated inside the capacitor when it flows through the capacitor. To reduce the heat generated by this condition, only the technical innovation of the electrolyte can be realized.
So where does the heat received by the capacitor on the motherboard come from? Many of the components on the motherboard will heat up during operation, but there are three parts that generate the most heat: CPU, Northbridge, and FET.
Usually the CPU and the Northbridge chip use a dedicated heat sink to reduce the temperature, but the FET used for CPU power supply does not have any heat dissipation measures. The PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) circuit is a core component of the CPU power supply circuit. The core device MOSFET releases a large amount of thermal energy during operation, and this area is also the most dense part of the electronic device. Normally, the MOSFET is mounted close to the motherboard and dissipated by the motherboard to transfer heat directly to the capacitors around it.