Strange smell inside tower after upgrading GPU
Tags:
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Gaming
- help
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Graphics Cards
- 7850
- 750w
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GPUs
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Asus
- new
- smell
- psu
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
tom1817
May 23, 2013 1:50:17 AM
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!
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!
More about : strange smell inside tower upgrading gpu
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.
Please post manufacturer and model of PSU.
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tom1817
May 23, 2013 2:04:35 AM
s3anister said:
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.
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
May 23, 2013 2:12:38 AM
beoza
May 23, 2013 2:25:12 AM
tom1817
May 23, 2013 2:30:55 AM
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.
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
May 23, 2013 2:36:33 AM
Mahisse said:
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.Would it not be risky to give it a good push, on the off-chance that the PSU is getting overworked?
Mahisse said:
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.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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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
May 23, 2013 2:41:08 AM
ur6beersaway said:
Hi, PCB=printed circuit board, as 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.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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this is the PSU http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplie...
2x 12V rails giving 22A each for a total of 44A, thats very low for a 750W unit considering good 600W units are giving out 50A or more, i would consider upgrading that PSU
2x 12V rails giving 22A each for a total of 44A, thats very low for a 750W unit considering good 600W units are giving out 50A or more, i would consider upgrading that PSU
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tom1817
May 23, 2013 2:53:24 AM
notea said:
this is the PSU http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplie...2x 12V rails giving 22A each for a total of 44A, thats very low for a 750W unit considering good 600W units are giving out 50A or more, i would consider upgrading that PSU
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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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.
Food for thought.
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tom1817
May 23, 2013 8:58:31 AM
So I just did a test here:
http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/index.jsp
And when I filled in the info it suggested that I need 334w of power. Shouldnt I be perfectly ok with my 750W one? Even if it's inefficient, it can't lose THAT much output, can it?
I'm fairly sure it's coming from the PSU now after a few hours gaming, and it only does it when it's working hard i.e. rift/GW2
http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/index.jsp
And when I filled in the info it suggested that I need 334w of power. Shouldnt I be perfectly ok with my 750W one? Even if it's inefficient, it can't lose THAT much output, can it?
I'm fairly sure it's coming from the PSU now after a few hours gaming, and it only does it when it's working hard i.e. rift/GW2
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tom1817
May 23, 2013 9:56:05 AM
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
)
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
)
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tom1817
May 23, 2013 10:01:16 AM
s3anister said:
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.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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tom1817 said:
s3anister said:
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.Even considering that that website indicated that the tower only need 334w of power?
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
May 23, 2013 10:15:25 AM
s3anister said:
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.
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
May 23, 2013 10:26:39 AM
tom1817 said:
s3anister said:
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.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.
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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Best solution
tom1817 said:
s3anister said:
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.
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?
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
May 23, 2013 10:32:41 AM
tom1817
May 23, 2013 10:33:44 AM
s3anister said:
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.
Thanks a lot
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tom1817 said:
jdowdy10 said:
I would start to save for a new, more efficient and reliably-branded PSU though.Ok thanks a lot for all your advice. Do you have any recommendations of reliable brands/models, and what I should look for?
Almost anything made by Seasonic or PC Power & Cooling. Higher end Corsair is also very good, look into the TX series and in particular the TX-750 if you have the money for it.
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tom1817
May 23, 2013 10:40:25 AM
s3anister said:
Almost anything made by Seasonic or PC Power & Cooling. Higher end Corsair is also very good, look into the TX series and in particular the TX-750 if you have the money for it.Awesome, shall have a look, cheers. What wattage should i go for, if you say 750w isnt enough? or is that just because its a poor psu?
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tom1817 said:
s3anister said:
Almost anything made by Seasonic or PC Power & Cooling. Higher end Corsair is also very good, look into the TX series and in particular the TX-750 if you have the money for it.Awesome, shall have a look, cheers. What wattage should i go for, if you say 750w isnt enough? or is that just because its a poor psu?
Simply because faulty/poor PSU. In all honesty 500W is plenty but the really nice PSUs tend to start at 750W and the Corsair TX750 in particular is a very good example of what a PSU should be.
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jdowdy10
May 23, 2013 11:28:00 AM
I will disagree slightly here in that you probably won't need anymore than 500w with a quality PSU. (EDIT: Well, I should have read that statement better. He says you don't need anymore than 500w and I agree)
I have a system that has an i3 3220, a 7850, 6 fans and All-In-One water cooling HSF, a SSD, a HDD (older one, less power efficient), a DVD and BluRay drive (also older and probably less power efficient), card reader and wireless card and under heavy load (Prime and Kumbustor running) it stays under 300w according to the UPS it is hooked up to.
I would look for something in the 500w range just to be safe. Something like this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
I have a system that has an i3 3220, a 7850, 6 fans and All-In-One water cooling HSF, a SSD, a HDD (older one, less power efficient), a DVD and BluRay drive (also older and probably less power efficient), card reader and wireless card and under heavy load (Prime and Kumbustor running) it stays under 300w according to the UPS it is hooked up to.
I would look for something in the 500w range just to be safe. Something like this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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tom1817
May 23, 2013 12:05:58 PM
Thanks a lot guys, I'll have a look at alternatives tomorrow. How long can I continue to use the current GPU/PSU combo, will I be able to play low-power games such as LoL on my current setup without causing too much damage? At what point does the GPU start to draw too much power?
And will it run idle/browsing the internet without causing damage?
And will it run idle/browsing the internet without causing damage?
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tom1817 said:
Thanks a lot guys, I'll have a look at alternatives tomorrow. How long can I continue to use the current GPU/PSU combo, will I be able to play low-power games such as LoL on my current setup without causing too much damage? At what point does the GPU start to draw too much power?You could be fine for a day or a week, it's impossible to give you an exact time frame but my guess would be in the 3-7 day range. As far as GPU power draw, that happens any time the GPU gets loaded but in particular any time you have a 3D application going (read: games). The reality is that it shouldn't matter much if you're playing games or not, the PSU is either going to handle the load or not and fizz out then die. All in all you'll probably be fine as long as you don't use your PC heavily for longer than a week.
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tom1817
May 23, 2013 12:30:43 PM
s3anister said:
You could be fine for a day or a week, it's impossible to give you an exact time frame but my guess would be in the 3-7 day range. As far as GPU power draw, that happens any time the GPU gets loaded but in particular any time you have a 3D application going (read: games). The reality is that it shouldn't matter much if you're playing games or not, the PSU is either going to handle the load or not and fizz out then die. All in all you'll probably be fine as long as you don't use your PC heavily for longer than a week.So ideally I should swap the old gpu back in for now, and get a new psu when I can (and before putting the new one back in)? It just seems strange to me that my 750w psu won't handle it, but people are saying that it will function perfectly on a 500w psu - is mine really that bad?
And I have onboard graphics in my PC as well, if i disconnect the power from my current GPU and use the onboard one, will that be fine? Because the new GPU won't require any power afaik?
I really do appreciate all the help by the way people
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tom1817
May 31, 2013 2:40:30 PM
Right - if anyone sees this thread in the future, looking for answers, read on:
The problem was the power supply - it was either shocking quality or damaged. I purchased a 600w PSU for £21 from a local PC shop today, fitted it, ran some stress tests and games with the new GPU and it didn't panic at all.
Slight smell now after being on for a few hours, but I'm assuming it's from the new GPU as the power supply is barely luke-warm to the touch, whereas before the PSU was red-hot when it smelled.
Will update in a few days regarding the smell, however if you don't see a post from me after this, assume that all is well
Thanks to everyone who helped me on this thread.
The problem was the power supply - it was either shocking quality or damaged. I purchased a 600w PSU for £21 from a local PC shop today, fitted it, ran some stress tests and games with the new GPU and it didn't panic at all.
Slight smell now after being on for a few hours, but I'm assuming it's from the new GPU as the power supply is barely luke-warm to the touch, whereas before the PSU was red-hot when it smelled.
Will update in a few days regarding the smell, however if you don't see a post from me after this, assume that all is well
Thanks to everyone who helped me on this thread.
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tom1817
June 3, 2013 12:36:49 AM
ManWithSword
December 13, 2013 2:16:19 AM
tom1817 said:
jdowdy10 said:
I would start to save for a new, more efficient and reliably-branded PSU though.Ok thanks a lot for all your advice. Do you have any recommendations of reliable brands/models, and what I should look for?
what you need to look for is both 'size' in terms of watts, and quality. The quality you can tell if it has been graded "80 plus" ie. 80% efficiency or higher + bronze, silver, gold, or platinum rating. Some will only be 80 plus. Others will be 80 plus bronze. I'm personally going to buy one in a few weeks which is 750w 80 plus gold. Costs about £90. The old PSU had gradually lost efficiency, ran hotter, span its fans louder, and finally started causing the pc to randomly reboot.
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