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Question Knocked SMD Component

R

Roppard

Junior Member
Hello everyone,

I got Gigabyte GA-B250 -HD3P motherboard in bulk with other MBs and components. It was quite dusty and there were also drops of some dried liquid. Looked like a spilled coffee. I decided to gently clean it using a cloth, but managed to knock off a small SMD component. It can be clearly seen on the photo below in the right top corner:


DSC-0229.jpg


it is located below the main PCI-E slot:

DSC-0230.jpg



I have tried the motherboard using a single GPU and it booted up normally. However, I am hesitant to do some workload tests, as I am worried what kind of issues can this cause. I do not want to destroy my GPU due to some over-voltage or spike or whatever, as I suppose it is either a missing resistor or capacitor.

Is it safe to use this motherboard? I do not have skill nor tools to re-solder the component. Anything remotely similar to heat gun I own is hair dryier.

Thanks for any info!
 
Personally I would use the motherboard (after testing) or try and resolder that small piece. It must be a small resistor or capacitor that further regulates the voltage on that chip, which is a PCIe to PCI bridge. The chip is not a voltage regulator. Disclaimer: Do this at your own risk.

ITE聯陽 | Product

www.ite.com.tw www.ite.com.tw
 
ArisVer said:
Personally I would use the motherboard (after testing) or try and resolder that small piece. It must be a small resistor or capacitor that further regulates the voltage on that chip, which is a PCIe to PCI bridge. The chip is not a voltage regulator. Disclaimer: Do this at your own risk.

ITE聯陽 | Product

www.ite.com.tw www.ite.com.tw
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your answer! As I said before, I do not have skill and equipment to re-solder. In reality that think is like 10 times smaller than on the photo, which I did using a macro lens adapter on my DSLR. I am actually quite surprised that I noticed it falling off and finding it on my floor afterwards and I am 100% sure I would do more harm than good in the attempt to re-solder it.

I have read that description of the chip, however I probably do not fully understand, what it is responsible for. Should I avoid using some of those PCI slots? If so, any idea which ones? I mean there are 5 of them in total (3 big and 2 small). I do not need all of them, but would really like to know which should I avoid to minimize risks.

I am hesitant to do the testing as I do not want to damage any other component. There is probably a chance of card frying in the PCI slot it is accompanied to, or no?
 
Yes, I guess, as mxnerd pointed out, if you do not use the PCI slots you will have no problems (probably no problems even if you do use them).

A very rough explanation is, that if you insert a card in a PCI slot the signal goes through the PCI bus to that chip and then it is "translated" to go through the PCIe bus.
 
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