Computer motherboards contain different types of capacitors.
A computer motherboard is a printed circuit board, or PCB, that contains the main microprocessor as well as a large number of other active and passive electronic components. Active components are the ones that require power to operate, such as a digital-to-analog converter. The passive components, such as capacitors and resistors, do not require power to function. A typical motherboard contains a number of different capacitors.
Electrolytic Polarized Capacitors
Polarized capacitors are the ones that have distinct positive and negative terminals. Electrolytic polarized capacitors are commonly used on motherboards. These capacitors are big in size and, therefore, take up a lot of space on motherboards. In newer motherboards, the use of such capacitors is declining. In most cases, these capacitors are used at the power and ground input terminals of active electronic components. The function of this design is to suppress voltage fluctuations before they enter the electronic component, since any power fluctuation in a component may negatively affect performance.
Tantalum Polarized Capacitors
Tantalum polarized capacitors on motherboards are now being used in place of larger and bulkier electrolytic capacitors. Tantalum capacitors are of surface mount device (SMD) type and are several times smaller than their electrolytic counterparts. As opposed to electrolytic capacitors, tantalum capacitors have terminals and not leads, and, therefore, do not require holes on motherboard for mounting. They are soldered directly on the PCB pads.
Ceramic Capacitors
Unpolarized ceramic capacitors can be found in largest numbers on a motherboard. They are used in all sorts of circuits found on motherboards including timers, amplifiers, filters and memory units. In some situations, they are used to suppress fluctuations in voltage signal passing through a trace on the board.
Capacitor Packaging
For motherboards, the new trend is to move from conventional through-hole capacitors to SMD capacitors, whether polarized or unpolarized. The reason is that the SMD capacitors are more cost effective and take up less space than through-hole capacitors. Most newer motherboards are now populated with SMD capacitors.
Tags: electrolytic capacitors, electronic components, newer motherboards, ones that, Polarized Capacitors, require power