Capacitors are one of the most important parts of your computer. They decide the longevity of a lot of components, from your motherboard to power supply, graphics card, etc. You must have heard that if the capacitors are manufactured by Japanese firms, you can rely on the capacity. But, why did this demographic discrimination get introduced? Why cannot any other country manufacture capacitors as good as Japan does? Let us find out in this article
What is the Capacitor Plague?
The capacitor plague, which troubled PC users and hardware manufacturers from 1999 to 2007, is often defined as a condition when Chinese and Taiwanese fluid capacitors would face premature deaths. They would either simply stop working, burst out, or have a peaceful death with a significant bulge or leaked electrolyte solution. But, Japanese capacitors from companies like Rubycon, Nichicon, Sanyo, etc. did not face these issues. Thus, users were recommended to get hardware with 100% Japan-made capacitors to prevent their components from giving up randomly.
Later, it was revealed that the Plague was caused due to a stolen miscopied formula. A certain Rubycon scientist had stolen the particular formula in question and he took it to a Chinese manufacturer. Some of his staff then stole the stolen formula and took it to Taiwan, where they started their company.
But, as the plague got media exposure, Chinese capacitor manufacturers started losing business. Some hardware manufacturers were in serious trouble too. Ever since 2007, when the plague presumably ended, Taiwanese and Chinese capacitors have gotten significantly better in terms of quality to a point where several Japanese manufacturers outsource some of their shipments from Chinese firms.
Thus, just because a capacitor is labelled Nichicon or Sanyo does not mean it is completely Japanese anymore. Also, gone are the days of electrolyte leaking from capacitors. Nowadays, most hardware manufacturers are shifting to solid polymer capacitors for their superior quality and life span. Thus, “100% Japanese capacitors” products do not mean anything important these days.