First time PC build, Reboots when playing game with Burning smell. [SOLVED]

gautamk · Jul 17, 2014

Hi guys, I assembled my own PC for the first time a week or so ago. The specs are:

Intel i7 4790K

MSI B85M G43 mobo

G.skill Ripjaws 2x4gb ram

Rosewill Fortress 550W PSU

MSI R7 265 2gb gfx card

I've been using my PC with no issues until now. The most it was taxed was by playing League of Legends and light renders on Maya. But last night I tried to load up CS:GO which is more intensive than League, and as soon as I load into the game the computer just switched off and rebooted. No BSOD. This was followed by a noticeable burning smell. I tried the game again and same result. Computer seems to run fine apart from that, for browsing and video playback. I'm not extremely hardware literate so I'm quite worried.

Some additional things:

Based on reading another thread, I unplugged my CPU supplemental power connector and tried to boot. The fans whirred and then stopped. Apparently this is to see if the VRM is blown?

When I first assembled my build, everything ran smoothly but I never got any POST beeps. I chalked it up to faulty speaker since everything was running fine. Idk if this was a mistake.

What could be the problem and what steps would you advise me to take?

Thanks in advance.

SOLVED:

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice. I ended up taking my PC to a repair shop, and they found the cause of the problem. It seems that I had plugged in one of my case fans into the PSU as well as the motherboard, so it was getting power from two sources (it had multiple inputs, and in my inexperience, I assumed that the motherboard connector was only a regulator, not also a power source). This was causing it to short whenever I started up CS:GO. After disconnecting it, I can run the game fine.

DiabloSpyker · Jul 17, 2014

You need to check your temps, a burning smell is absolutely not what you want to smell. You can download Realtemp for your cpu and MSI Afterburner for your graphics card. If you could tell me the temps on idle load, i could check whether it is too high or usual. I recommend you NOT to play any intensive game that makes it reboot.

gautamk · Jul 17, 2014

DiabloSpyker :

Hey, thanks for the fast reply. I downloaded both of them, temps with just firefox running are about 31ºC for both of them. Yeah, I'm not gonna start up that game, I don't want to chance any permanent damage.

DiabloSpyker · Jul 17, 2014

gautamk :

Hmm, weird, that is not hot at all. You said you can run LoL without the pc turning off right? Try playing that game and tell me the temps when the gpu and cpu are on little load, okay?

gautamk · Jul 17, 2014

DiabloSpyker :

Started up a custom game filled with bots, this is what I got http://puu.sh/afbqh/5c0be933a9.jpg I derped and tooks the screenshot after closing the game, but in game the temp didnt go any higher than 35 for the CPU and 32-33 for GPU

Suztera · Jul 17, 2014

Do you know where the smell is mostly coming from?

gautamk · Jul 17, 2014

Suztera :

Can't say since the PC case was closed when it happened. I only double checked by smelling near the top exhaust fans. After shutting down and opening the case, I couldn't locate the smell again

Suztera · Jul 17, 2014

i not particularly sure if the motherboard is good enough for an i7 4790k. Check for any burnt marks on the connectors and the motherboard.

techgeek · Jul 17, 2014

My guess is, between the smell and the spontaneous reboots, its the power supply. Do you have another supply? Something a bit more powerful and hopefully from a more reputable manufacturer. I've read Rosewill has a decent line of supplies (HIVE), but it's not the line you have.

gautamk · Jul 17, 2014

Suztera :

I think you're right, I can't find it on here http://processormatch.intel.com/MotherBoards/CompatibleBoards?componentName=I7-4790K or at http://us.msi.com/support/mb/B85MG43.html#support-cpu That's a pretty big mess up on my part, I was initially meant to get a 4770K and I only checked socket compatibility when I switched to a 4790K. Would that cause the issue at hand?

techgeek · Jul 17, 2014

The 4790K is shown as supported in the MSI page you've linked to.

gautamk · Jul 17, 2014

techgeek :

I feel like an idiot for not using Ctrl+F instead of scrolling down and skimming, but that's a huge relief, wow. Thanks for that. To your previous question, I don't have another power supply to check with. Is 550W not enough for this config btw? Is there a way to test if this PSU is faulty?

techgeek · Jul 17, 2014

Well 550W is plenty for that system, according to the PSU calculator I'm using, 400W would be enough. I had to make some assumptions for your system specs as the ones you've listed are pretty sparse, but the assumptions I made wouldn't have a great effect on the total power requirement.

I assumed you're not overclocking, I hope that's the case?

However just because your supply is rated at 550W, doesn't mean it's not faulty. The only real way to test to see if it's the supply is to try another one. Do you have a friend or family member that would let you borrow theirs?

The other possibility is your graphics card. Do you have another system you can try it in?

The symptoms are that when you stress your entire system, it crashes. So it's either the GPU or the PSU in my opinion.

P.S. Your power supply is listed as a Tier 3 supply. Definitely not the best, but certainly not the worst either.

gautamk · Jul 17, 2014

techgeek :

I have a 1TB Western Digital HDD and a 250gb Samsung SSD as boot drive, and one additional 80 and 120mm fan, that's about it. No overclocking, everything is as it came out the box. I have some friends with desktops, I'll have to see if it's possible check with theirs. When I plug in their PSU, should I start up the game again to test? Is there a risk of causing damage when I do this?

Thanks for all the help

techgeek · Jul 17, 2014

The only way to know for sure that the PSU is the problem is to test it under the same conditions that the problem occurs. In your case that would be with CS:GO.

As to whether it could cause your friends supply to die, unlikely. Just make sure that his/her supply is powerful enough to supply your system. 500W - 550W should be enough.

If it still fails, then it's likely your graphics card.

Of course we are basing this all off of the fact that you smelt a burnt smell following the crash. If it's not associated with the problem, it could be something else. For now we can focus on these troubleshooting tips for now and if we exhaust those, then move on to disassociating the two issues.

One thing you could check is the PCI-E power connectors. Try disconnecting it from your card and have a look at it. It doesn't happen often, but I've heard of poor power connections getting hot and melting the plastic on the connector.

Suztera · Jul 17, 2014

gautamk :

Yes i know it is supported but i not sure the VRM is good enough.

techgeek · Jul 17, 2014

Suztera :

I'm quite certain if there were any concerns on whether the VRM's could handle the CPU, MSI wouldn't list it as compatible. That is unless they want to RMA a bunch of cooked motherboards. He isn't overclocking, so he should be OK if MSI list's it as compatible.

Suztera · Jul 17, 2014

techgeek :

Suztera :

I'm quite certain if there were any concerns on whether the VRM's could handle the CPU, MSI wouldn't list it as compatible. That is unless they want to RMA a bunch of cooked motherboards. He isn't overclocking, so he should be OK if MSI list's it as compatible.

Not true, MSI stated that MSI 970A-G46 supports a FX 8350 but they don;t recommend that setup.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/330572-30-970a-warning
Thus they only put as supported since you can put the cpu onto that socket. That really what supported means.

techgeek · Jul 17, 2014

Suztera :

The issue indicated in the thread you've linked to came down to aggressive overclocking on a board that didn't have adequate cooling on the VRM's. The OP has stated that he is at stock. Also since he is only having issues with gaming CS:GO, that isn't very CPU intensive so it's unlikely the VRM's are overheating. He said that everything else worked fine.

I also disagree that MSI would state that it's compatible just because the CPU fits in the socket. First you need micro-code support in the BIOS for the CPU to be properly detected. Obviously power requirements are also a major consideration.

gautamk · Jul 18, 2014

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice. I ended up taking my PC to a repair shop, and they found the cause of the problem. It seems that I had plugged in one of my case fans into the PSU as well as the motherboard, so it was getting power from two sources (it had multiple inputs, and in my inexperience, I assumed that the motherboard connector was only a regulator, not also a power source). This was causing it to short whenever I started up CS:GO. After disconnecting it, I can run the game fine.

techgeek · Jul 19, 2014

Well it's good to know that you sorted out your problem.

I can assume that you had a 3 pin connector in plugged into your motherboard and a 4 pin molex connector plugged into the PSU. If this is the case, you're very lucky you didn't cook the fan controller on the motherboard. You're PSU would have been pushing 12V where your motherboard would have been providing something lower depending on the temperature it monitors to determine how fast to turn the fan, it will supply somewhere between 7V - 12V.

First time PC build, Reboots when playing game with Burning smell. [SOLVED]

Reputable

Honorable

Reputable

Honorable

Reputable

Polypheme

Reputable

Polypheme

Splendid

Reputable

Splendid

Reputable

Splendid

Reputable

Splendid

Polypheme

Splendid

Polypheme

Splendid

Reputable

Splendid

Share this page