Suspicious roasted smell + unexpected shutdowns : Suspecting Power Supply

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smellyoverheat

Honorable
Jul 6, 2013
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10,510
Greetings,

For the last 3 days, when playing more than 10-20 mins on my computer, a suspsicious roasted wire/plastic/capacitor smell comes out of my computer, and the smell gets worse if i leave my game running.

The problem is, that i cant clearly identify where does the smell comes from, i either have a broken nose or everything is burning. After browsing the web, my thoughts are going to the PSU

If i stop the game to take a look at Asus Suite II's sensors, i see that Voltage gets over +5v,
CPU's temperature gets over 47°C if it's not more. Video card temperature goes around 43°C-46°C.
Furthermore, if i get lucky, i'll even get warnings from the Asus Suite saying "WARNING +5V 5.700V"
if i dont reboot or shutdown my computer manualy, it'll directly halt with no warning or mercy.

I cleaned all the dust from it, using vacum, air bombs, cotton, i renewed the thermal dough and made sure that every screw is correctly 'screwed'.
I bought this computer 6 - 7 months ago, having the following equipement :

Power Supply : Cooler Master GX 750W BRONZE
Video Card : GeForce 680GTX
Motherboard : P9X79
CPU : Intel core i7 [...]

I have 3 hypothesises :
- I may have a virus that execute specific instructions to make the PSU do S**t
- The Power Supply Unit has a real physical problem that doesnt comes from my deeds
- I'm totaly wrong.

Could you guys, please, give me advices, methods, solutions on how to clearly identify what is going on and/or solve the problem ?
Thanks in advance

- Someone in distress
 
Solution
ko888


Having the RS-750-ACAA-D3 isn't really that great either. The GX Series is really mediocre. Its circuit design doesn't have any dedicated voltage regulation which could explain why your +5V rail is exceeding spec by jumping up to +5.7V. They are...
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drtoast

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May 10, 2013
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Almost certainly the PSU, a virus cant do jack to a PSU.

And those temps are fine... my cpu hits 65-70 high load and gpu's usually hit between 60 and 80.

coolermaster isnt known for good powersupplies. I would recommend you dont use it anymore until you change it... thats some serious hardware your risking damaging by continuing to use it.
 
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rad666

rad666

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Feb 20, 2010
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Playing a game or not, you get the smell of burning/overheating electronics, and the smell gets worse when your system draws more power for gaming. Your system temperatures are within tolerance, so that isn't likely the problem. All the warning messages you get are about unstable voltages. Though, without putting out noses into your system and smelling ourselves we can't be 100% sure, everything points to your PSU.

Try this: Open your computer and disconnect the PSU from everything. Remove the PSU from the case and turn it on. Leave it on for a few minutes and check for the smell. If you don't smell anything, turn it off, plug in the mobo connectors (but leave the PSU out of the case), and turn it back on. Repeat plugging things back in until you start to smell it. Once you do, it should be fairly easy to see if the smell is coming from the PSU.
 
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nostall

nostall

Splendid
Nov 28, 2012
3,244
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You could also try removing the parts (PSU, video card, Optical drive, etc.) and smell them. Usually burned insulation/solder/caps. etc. leave an smell for some time after frying.

If you take the PSU out of the case, disconnected from EVERYTHING, be certain to attach a fan or some other inexpensive part to the PSU so that it has some electrical load upon it BEFORE you switch it on. After that, if you didn't get a bad smell, you can follow rad666's suggestion.
 
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ko888

ko888

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Feb 18, 2009
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Check the terminal sockets of all of your power connectors from the power supply unit.

Loose terminal sockets will allow the contact surface to oxidize and create electrical resistance. This is especially critical for high power draw components like the CPU and graphics card power connectors and even the main (20+4)-pin motherboard power connector where a noticeable voltage drop will occur across the resistance. The resistance in the junction can cause it to heat up and melt the connector or cause a fire as the power draw of the CPU or graphics card increases under load.

What is the specific model number of your Cooler Master GX 750W BRONZE? Is it the RS-750-ACAA-E3 (discontinued) or the RS-750-ACAA-D3?

The discontinued RS-750-ACAA-E3 model made by Seventeam had reliability problems and was replaced by the RS-750-ACAA-D3 made by Enhance Electronics.
 
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smellyoverheat

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Jul 6, 2013
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10,510
@ko888
I have the RS-750-ACAA-D3, thats good for me isn't it :D

I'll try to do as rad666 and nostall said, and as i'll be doing that, ill also check for loose sockets in the computer, ill try to put them somewhere safe.

If rad666's test reveals the PSU as the defective piece, i wont be buying Cooler Master PSUs anymore.
could you guys give me an advice regarding a good PSU Builder

I'll keep you guys informed tomorrow (GMT + 1), meanwhile thanks a lot for your help guys.

Thanks
 
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ko888

ko888

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Feb 18, 2009
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Having the RS-750-ACAA-D3 isn't really that great either. The GX Series is really mediocre. Its circuit design doesn't have any dedicated voltage regulation which could explain why your +5V rail is exceeding spec by jumping up to +5.7V. They are built with cheap Taicon and Su’scon electrolytic capacitors on its secondary side. Unfortunately those capacitor brands products have been known to fail sooner than expected although I'm not saying that has happened in your case.

Select a PSU model from Antec, Corsair TX, RM, HX, AX and AXi series, Enermax, PC Power & Cooling, some Rosewill Capstone, Tachyon and Fortress series models, Seasonic, XFX.
 
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Solution
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smellyoverheat

Honorable
Jul 6, 2013
4
0
10,510
Okay

I feel sorry for all this disturbance, for no apparent reason, the PSU seems to work perfectly now. i tried to unplug it and do it as you guys said.
After wich, all problems disapeard, everything tseems to work fine.
But still, i'll be looking forward changing my PSU, i dont need to take the risk to burn my components.

My theory is that the fact that my power cable was pluged in a strip could cause some strange behaviors. I now plugged it on a voltage modulator wich is pluged into a different wall outlet from the strip.

Thanks a lot for your advices, Thanks a lot.
Thanks ko888 for your expertise and rad666 for your technique.

PS: I dont know how to mark this topic as 'solved', sorry :( but feel free to tell me
 
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