Strange smell inside tower after upgrading GPU

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tom1817

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Hi guys, so I installed my new Asus 7850 yesterday, upgrading from a 6670. After a few hours gaming I noticed that a strange smell was coming from the tower, but I can't really describe it other than slightly similar to a new car smell - certainly doesn't smell like burning.

Upon inspection, I was unable to determine where the smell was coming from, although it seemed strongest from the top back corner, on the fan below my PSU and above the GPU. I also felt the PSU last night and noticed that it was rather hot to the touch, as was the chip on the GPU (to a lesser extent however).

I'm a bit concerned that there might be a problem with the GPU drawing too much power/working too hard? However the PSU should easily be able to come with it I think?

Some numbers: PSU is 750w, the GPU was at around 70 degrees last night when gaming.

However, when the PC is relatively idle (i.e. now) it's at 26 degrees and I can still smell it a little - PSU and GPU are both cool to the touch (I now have the side of the tower off so I could try to locate the smell again).

Tl;dr: is my GPU making my PC work too hard or is it just that new PC components smell for a while?

I seem to remember that when I got the tower back in March it smelt a bit for a few days then as well, but I cant remember and be 100% sure.

Thanks in advance guys! :)
 
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s3anister
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s3anister

s3anister

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New computer parts do in fact have a smell to them that goes away with age. The top layer of the PCB is what does this. Having said that, if your PSU is a cheap unit (regardless of it being rated "750") it could be getting overworked in which case what you're smelling is glues and epoxy in the PSU heating up and off-gassing.

Please post manufacturer and model of PSU.
 
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tom1817

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750W ARIAnet ACE Xtreme Series Power Supply
from
https://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gaming+Range/Next+Day+Gaming+PCs/Gladiator+V6300-HD+AMD+FX-6300+Radeon+HD+6670+Six-Core+Next+Day+Gaming+PC+?productId=53438

Also what do you mean by PCB?
 
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tom1817

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Also it's pretty damn noisy when it's working compared to my old one - is that simply because it has 2 large fans vs the single fan on my old one, and i'll just have to get used to it?
 
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tom1817

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Aria are a company that have been making PCs/PC parts for years, I can only assume that Arianet is the part of that company that manufacture parts.
 
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Mahisse

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As long as things don't smell burned or of hot plastic and your temperatures are normal I wouldn't worry about it. My guess is also that it's the top layer of the PCB that releases a smell when heated. You could try to benchmark or play intensive your card for a good while to make the card as hot as possible and get rid of the last fumes.

Have you checked the temperatures on the new card? More noise is to expected from two fans rather than one but if it's overwhelming check the temperatures.
 
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tom1817

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Would it not be risky to give it a good push, on the off-chance that the PSU is getting overworked?



The GPU never goes above 70 - tried Diablo 3, Guild Wars 2, Rift and League so far, nothing above 70.
I read somewhere that AMD GPUs should be left under 60 degrees, is that right? Seems strange because my old GPU regularly hit 70 and hasn't been damaged at all.
 
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ur6beersaway

ur6beersaway

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Hi, PCB=printed circuit board, has a factory finish for protection. You can set up a fan profile with this :http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php or you might check your BIOS for a fan profile. The smell should dissipate in a day or two but if there is something it will show up. 70c while gaming is slightly high & the fans should be @ max speed then, but not @ idle. Two large fans instead of one = quiet & cool.
 
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tom1817

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Thanks. I set up a fan profile with MSi Afterburner last night, told it to go up to 100% fan speed when it hits 70 degrees. I haven't tested for noise since I set the profile up though, so that may have improved it.
So if I was to continue gaming for a few days, and the smell doesn't go away, will I do any lasting damage? I don't want to push it in an effort to melt off this finish on the off-chance that it's going to do some damage.
 
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tom1817

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Ok i'll look into it, tyvm.

@ur6beers (for some reason i can't multi-quote?) ok, so temps will be the indicator im looking for? it's not going to blow up or anything without getting pretty damn hot first, right?
 
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s3anister

s3anister

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Tom, the problem is not your graphics card. From what I've gathered it's working normally. In all honesty, if you're smelling anything unpleasant to the nose it's probably coming from your PSU. As said before, I've never heard of the brand and personally I don't trust anything not made by PC Power and Cooling or Seasonic.

Food for thought.
 
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tom1817

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Also - another possible solution.
Could overactive GPU fans be increasing the power consumption? Because they run rather fast when gaming (~40-60%) and are very loud. Would dropping it to 20-30% and monitoring the GPU temperature lower the overall consumption? Because I think the issue is that the power supply is trying to push through more power than it's comfortable pushing (non-technical lingo, not 100% sure what I'm talking about :D)
 
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s3anister

s3anister

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Fans on the GPU hardly load the PSU in comparison to the GPU itself. In any case, it could be that your PSU is simply not up to the task regardless of its specifications. All your symptoms seem to indicate imminent Power Supply failure.
 
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tom1817

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Even considering that that website indicated that the tower only need 334w of power?

And will it be stable if I don't push it too hard, until I can get a new PSU? And are there any brand recommendations you'd make other than PC Power or Seasonic, and what specs to look for? I don't know an awful lot about it.
 
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s3anister

s3anister

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The indication of it only needing 334W of power is pretty spot on, however, faulty/defective power supplies happen all the time and it'd be no surprise that your has simply been working fine at low load this whole time. But when you loaded it up with a power hungry video card it's started struggling.

Wouldn't be the first time, believe me. My advice? Try and test your computer with another PSU to see if the smell goes away. Or test your GPU in another computer to see if the smell is still there. Either way should give you clear indication where the problem lies. Otherwise you could just take the GPU out and see if you still smell anything, that would at least let you know if it happens with the GPU in the system or not.
 
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tom1817

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Ok, that makes sense to me I'll try that some time, although i'm fairly sure that the issue lies with the introduction of the new GPU, as I'm playing the same games at the same-ish graphics levels and had no issues before. Pretty much the only factor thats changed is the GPU itself.

Will it be stable running like this for now or should i crank it down/use the old gpu until i can get a new psu?
I didn't notice the smells until i booted up proper games, I could play league of legends without the fans kicking in and without me noticing any issues - can i assume its safe to do that for now, with my current psu?
 
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jdowdy10

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Just a little story for you...

A friend of mine I hadn't talked to in a while called me up and asked me if I could take a look at this computer. It would turn on but would take ages at the Windows log on screen.

I asked him where he got the computer from because it was custom built and I knew he didn't build it. He said a local computer shop helped him pick out the parts and assemble it. Inside was a first generation i7 and a 4850 and not much else besides fans, HDD, and DVD drive...and some no name 1000w power supply.

Long story short, the power supply wasn't even giving the computer enough power to boot into Windows (and it eventually wouldn't even POST the more I tried to run down the problem). It lasted about three years but degraded at a rapid rate and he was lucky it didn't fry anything.

I wouldn't trust it if I didn't research it if I were you. You could put it under very heavy load (run Prime95 and Kumbustor at the same time) and see what happens, but that is dangerous.

That being said I would probably let it slide for a few days to see if the smell goes away. Could just be the new part smell as some have alluded to. I would start to save for a new, more efficient and reliably-branded PSU though.
 
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s3anister

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So here's the problem, essentially this is happening with the new GPU. At the base level even while running low/medium settings your GPU is going to probably draw a lot more power than your last one by being able to draw more frames per second than your old GPU. Only way to really curb this is to turn on V-Sync and limit your frame-render to 60fps. But if you're only playing LoL you could definitely get away with your old card.

Personally? I'd just run your card until you burned out your PSU but it's really not ideal and runs the risk of killing your whole system. I'd only do it if you have tested all your parts and if the PSU is faulty, have a new PSU on the way.
 
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tom1817

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Ok thanks a lot for all your advice. Do you have any recommendations of reliable brands/models, and what I should look for?
 
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tom1817

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Thanks a lot :)
 
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