burning smell from PC

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 25, 2014

One day when i was gaming on my CPU i smelled a very strong burning smell so i turned off my PC the second day there was nothing but today i smelt a burning smell but it wasn't as strong as the first time
My system is
Intel Core2Duo E7500 @ 3.3GHz (50C under load)
MSI N6402GD3/V3 GT 640 (1050MHz core and 900MHz memory)(45C under load)
2X2GB DDR3 1333MHz 1.5V memory @ 1200MHz
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200RPM
HP DVD1260
1X120mm non quality fan
1X80mm non quality fan
non quality 500W PSU (20A on 12V rail)
non quality Case
Gigabyte G41MT-S2PT motherboard
but even with that smell it kept working for half an hour and then i turned it off
note : this smell appears while gaming and web browsing after about 15 minutes)

Brantyn Gerik · Feb 25, 2014

probably burning some dust, clean your pc. normally if you smell something burning, it's dust, and your pc still works. if it were anything else, your pc would likely stop working or at least some part of it would

ex_bubblehead · Feb 25, 2014

A burning smell is never a good thing, it means that something is seriously overheated or shorted. Do not use this computer until you determine the source and have repaired it. Further use raises the risk of fire or shock.

nullifier · Feb 25, 2014

Off the top of my head, I would say when you start to smell the burning odor, try to locate approximately what part of the PC it is coming from. Often time a small like that can come from a failing/failed capacitor or battery (less likely) such as the CMOS.

I would inspect the capacitors on the motherboard, video card, etc. and see if any of them are distended, meaning they have burst or swelled. http://www.asti-usa.com/support/appnotes/65/2.jpg

NOTE: If the smell is coming from the power supply, DO NOT take it apart unless you have adequate experience doing so. Even after the PSU has been unplugged it can store enough power in its capacitors to kill you. It would be prudent to try a different PSU if you suspect that is the issue.

Let us know what you discover.

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 25, 2014

i cleaned the PC and still the smell exists and i nothing is overheating form CPU, GPU, Motherboard and HDD but the PSU fan is getting out hot air when gaming and web surfing

Brantyn Gerik · Feb 25, 2014

did you dust out the specific parts? like blow compressed air into the power supply and gpu to blow out the dust? could be the psu heating up and burning dust, or burning the transistors themselves

nullifier · Feb 25, 2014

ahmedkhalifa1999 :

Just curious, did you check the temperatures via the BIOS or some other temperature reporting utility? Or did you go off of just feeling the general area around the component?

Thanks.

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 25, 2014

yes cleaned every part of it and the capacitors are looking very well like new (my motherboard and card are 6 months old) my old motherboard chipset melt down due to much heat because of running demanding games on integrated graphics card xD
i already unplugged PSU, opened it and checked it and there are no burn signs but i suspect the transistor

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 25, 2014

cPU temp form Bios about 30-35C and GPU from MSI afterburner 45C

nullifier · Feb 25, 2014

ahmedkhalifa1999 :

Thanks for confirming, well it seems like you've covered your bases. Could it possibly be something connect to the same outlet/power strip that your computer is? Trying to think outside of the box a bit.

Also, from your initial post you didn't mention any unusual behavior though correct? You just shut it down yourself because you were worried about the smell.

Brantyn Gerik · Feb 25, 2014

Smelling burning things is also a sign of a stroke ;D but in all seriousness, try moving the computer to a different room, or just running it without the side panel on so you can SEE where the smell is coming from if any smoke arises

IDontUnderstand · Feb 25, 2014

I would just try to do what nullifier said earlier about trying to locate where the smell is coming from, it will give you a good sense of what might be the issue.
Also try to ask someone else to see if they smell it, it might just be you lol

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 25, 2014

yes the screen, speakers and case only to the same socket but the second day the screen went black for 5 seconds and then 10 seconds of very very low fps(1-5 fps) while playing TMNT : out of the shadows (i normally play with 60 FPS V-sync) and then the PC continued running and also today ii noticed some artifacts (black parts missing from some frames) while playing Far Cry 3 and while web surfing the PC sometimes stops for a few seconds and then continues running (this started about a month ago)

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 25, 2014

Brantyn Gerik :

i couldn't locate where it is coming from the top so i think the PSU and there is no smoke

IDontUnderstand · Feb 25, 2014

I think you should swap a spare PSU if you have one,

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 25, 2014

i think i should better buy a new one but what about the HEC 300VP-2RX
http://www.hec-group.com.tw/power_supply/atx12v_v22/index.html#vprx
will it be enough (since it is the only thing available here in my budget) and also the 350W one ?

IDontUnderstand · Feb 25, 2014

Their server isn't responding, mind if you tell us the exact budget? and bear in mind that there's no guarantee that PSU is the issue unless tests have been done.

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 25, 2014

i think it is the PSU because the smell came from top and my PSU is top mounted and my budget shall not exceed 200EGP (I live in egypt) and here they are the only available in this budget

IDontUnderstand · Feb 25, 2014

I apologize for my unfamiliarity with Egyptian stores, but I was looking at egprices.com and yeah.....I would go with the Gigabyte ones instead of HEC since it's more well known and more than likely to be better quality.

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 25, 2014

IDontUnderstand :

the only problem is that they are out of stock (I really wanted them)
note : egprices is the only PC Hardware stores collection in egypt (it is not an online store but a collection of prices from stores)

IDontUnderstand · Feb 25, 2014

I guess if that's your only option then it will have to do, it's just a lot harder since it's very difficult to buy PC component for you.

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 26, 2014

today i tried to power on the pc and no signal on screen and all fans are spinning

IDontUnderstand · Feb 26, 2014

Make sure every plug is secure, tight, and on, then use the VGA port in the rear panel to see if anything comes up.

ahmedkhalifa1999 · Feb 26, 2014

i tried this and everything is well connected and the screen is now showing black but there is a signal

IDontUnderstand · Feb 26, 2014

Is your keyboard lit up? Are you able to press num-lock and see a response?

burning smell from PC

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