> Ah. I had a quick look[0] at my BP6, and couldn't tell, but it's usually
> got a few ceramic rings, with copper wire around them, and a few big
> cylindrical capacitors around it. Where it would say "Linear regulator", I
> don't know; many SMP motherboards have a slot for an optional second
> VRM[1] - BP6's don't.
A linear regulator around 2 or 3A is usually a 3 or 5-pin IC
that looks like a power transistor. And at that power level,
it will probably have a heatsink attached. There will be a couple
of capacitors or large-ish values (say 100uF approx) nearby
as well.
A switch-mode regulator at that power will be a smaller IC
(probably in a regular surface-mount package) and power transistor,
with a capacitor and inductor (enamelled copper wire wrapped
around a little ferrite core) nearby. Switch-modes are _much_
more efficient, so there's no need for a heatsink to dissipate
waste power.
It would probably be located pretty close to the AGP slot.
Basically, look for either an inductor or a heatsink. If you
have both, look for the part number on the component attached
to the heatsink. Given that I'd be able to tell you what it
is. If it's a transistor, then you have a switch-mode
regulator.
Later,
Kenn
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