[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
>         Hi.
>         Capacitors are for filtering voltages, and specially filtering
> due to sudden currents inside chips on normal functioning. However,
> they are not too critical. Their use on timing functions is probably
> almost null in today's mobos's oscillators.
>         Don't worry too much (but worry about PB).
> >
> > Packard Bell POS P75, Win95a
> >
> > An article in "Microtimes" said that cheap motherboards use aluminum
> > electrolytic capacitors instead of tantalum capacitors.  It said that
> > the "cheaper capacitors which would degrade over time and no longer
> > supply correct voltages and correct timing to the CPU."
> >


Sorry Javier, but I disagree with you.

Capacitors have several different jobs depending on how they are used
within the electronic circuit.  One of the jobs a capacitor can do is
to filter out noise from a digital signal.

As motherboard bus speeds increase, the need for noise filtering
becomes much more critical.

As for the article about aluminum vs tantalum capacitors....
yes there is a quality and performance difference but it is
very slight -- in most cases.

Remember the bottom line.... you get what you pay for.
If company A sells a product for $2500, and company B sells an identical
product for $1600, and company C sells it for $1200, that difference in
price is generally due to the quality of the materials used in the
product.

Will the higher priced product outlast the lower priced product?
     almost always
Will the higher priced product function better than the lower?
     maybe, but not necessarily

--
Jim Meagher
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