Could my graphics card have blown a capacitor on my motherboard

[stushman2011]

I bought a new pc last year its been good to me then i put a gtx 460 1gb into it then about a month later a capacitor blew on my motherboard. I just ordered a new pc tower and wonder if i put my gtx 460 in this 1 will it be ok

 

[InvalidError]

The biggest contributors to capacitor failure are:
- defective capacitor (bad luck)
- excessive voltage (bad engineering or bad PSU)
- excessive ripple current (bad engineering)
- excessive heat (bad layout/ventilation)
- aging (inevitable but can be accelerated by all of the above)

Your GTX460 may have contributed to worsen some of those factors by increasing PSU load and case/board temperatures but it is unlikely that it is responsible for the failure.

 

[graemevermeulen]

The GTX 460 had nothing to do with a capacitor blowing on your motherboard.

I can confidently state this as a technical IT trainer.

 

[InvalidError]

The GTX 460 had nothing to do with a capacitor blowing on your motherboard.

I can confidently state this as a technical IT trainer.

From an engineering point of view, the correlation may not be zero.

Adding the 460 likely increased temperatures around the capacitor and voltage ripple on supply rails. Increased voltage ripple would also come with increased current ripple which would provide another temperature increase. The combination of all those factors would accelerate aging and increase the likelihood of triggering failure from manufacturing defects.

The capacitor would likely have failed even without the 460. The 460 simply made it happen sooner rather than later.

 

[bryonhowley]

From an engineering point of view, the correlation may not be zero.

Adding the 460 likely increased temperatures around the capacitor and voltage ripple on supply rails. Increased voltage ripple would also come with increased current ripple which would provide another temperature increase. The combination of all those factors would accelerate aging and increase the likelihood of triggering failure from manufacturing defects.

The capacitor would likely have failed even without the 460. The 460 simply made it happen sooner rather than later.

Would agree while the 460 was not the direct result it could have made it happen faster but it would have blown anyway. I would not worry about putting it back in your new tower just make sure you have good ventilation. Keep the temps down and you should be fine. Be sure that the new tower has a good PSU with adequate amp's on the +12 rail a lot of pre-built system do not have a PSU strong enough to handle much more than what the tower comes with so that might be something you need to look into before you add the 460 into the rig.

 

[InvalidError]

a lot of pre-built system do not have a PSU strong enough to handle much more than what the tower comes with

A lot of pre-built systems come with PSUs that should not be sold or distributed in the first place. Governments should have e-waste reduction laws banning the sale of electronics engineered to fail within less than three years of normal use.