Bad smell coming from my pc

NoNameExe · Apr 1, 2016

Hi. I have already created a thread about some smells coming from my PC, 1 year old. It is not a burnt plastic smell now.
I noticed there is a bad smell coming from my PC 2 months ago. It is not coming from my PSU, I already checked it.
The smell is chemical and "sweet" (yes it is funny to say

). I opened several times my PC to find any types of damage on my motherboard like bad capacitors and I checked the temperatures putting my finger near motherboards circuits. Nothing. All the temps are fine and I also checked it using some programs and they are all below 40C.
When my PC is off the smell comes from the top-side of the motherboard near RAM slots. When I try to smell inside the case I don't notice that bad smell. It seems to be only noticeable if I smell from the top fans slots of the case and it is quite noticeable when my PC is powered-on.
I tried multiple time to remove dust from my PC but it didn't work.
My PC works well. No crashes, no BSODs. No performance issues and so on...
Any help is appreciated, and sorry for my bad English.

Rogue Leader · Apr 1, 2016

You should take the fan out, there may be something caught in the fan motor, maybe a dead bug or something?

NoNameExe · Apr 1, 2016

Hi and thanks for your answer.
I have no fans on the top of my case. I have 1 fan on the back of the case and 1 fan is for the CPU cooler. The CPU cooler is pretty new and the other fan doesn't seems to emit any smell.

Rogue Leader · Apr 1, 2016

NoNameExe :

Oh ok I thought you said it was coming from the fan vent.

The only other thing I can think of is something caught behind the motherboard?

Archaic59 · Apr 1, 2016

I read your post but I still think it is most likely a bad capacitor in the power supply or motherboard. Can you list the brand and model of all the parts in your system?

NoNameExe · Apr 1, 2016

Thanks for your answers!
I already checked with a torchlight behind the motherboard and I didn't find nothing.
My PSU is a Thermaltake Berlin, my motherboard is a MSI h97 PC mate and my ram are Kingston hyperx fury. I have also a cooler master tx3 evo. The psu don't emit any smell. I already checked my motherboard for bad capacitors and they seems to be all ok.

Rogue Leader · Apr 1, 2016

You may not be able to see the bad capacitor, they don't bulge out these days like they used to. There may be burn marks though.

NoNameExe · Apr 1, 2016

I didn't find burnt marks either. They seems to be absolutely normal. Can you post a photo of these burnt marks, please?

turkey3_scratch · Apr 1, 2016

Sometimes they won't even show physical signs of failure. If they get hot enough, the liquid dielectric inside can vaporize into a gas if it sees an opportunity. Cheap capacitors will vaporize at even low temps.

Rogue Leader · Apr 1, 2016

Take a look at this image search for some examples, look very closely at the capacitors in the corner, sometimes its just a tiny opening in the top that as Turkey_scratch said can leak out the gas

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1340&bih=686&q=motherboard+burnt+capacitor&oq=motherboard+burnt+capacitor&gs_l=img.3...718.5920.0.6110.27.14.0.13.5.0.108.1116.11j3.14.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.18.1055.WKWOen6tw6o#imgrc=_

turkey3_scratch · Apr 1, 2016

The biggest one, sort of left side here, looks like it has a teeny weeny opening. Maybe I'm wrong, sort of hard to tell.

makkem · Apr 1, 2016

Hi
Do you have a graphics card in your system ?

NoNameExe · Apr 1, 2016

Hi and thanks for your time.
I did a photo of the location where the smell seems to come. I saw some photos and I don't see nothing bad with my capacitors. I have a Gtx 750ti.
http://imgur.com/4hUUWkF

turkey3_scratch · Apr 1, 2016

In your power supply? It could be the PSU, though I don't recommend you open that up.

Motherboards these days have basically all solid aluminum polymer caps, which don't bulge like electrolytic caps. I think they crack.

NoNameExe · Apr 1, 2016

Hi.
How can the PSU be the problem if I don't smell anything from it?
Something like over-voltage?
The smell only comes from a part of the motherboard.

turkey3_scratch · Apr 1, 2016

I thought you said the PSU smelled, my bad.

makkem · Apr 1, 2016

NoNameExe :

Probably not coming from the GPU then as it is a good distance away.
However that is close to the 24 Pin motherboard power connector isn't it ?
Check that the power connector is fully home and that there is no overheating if the connector is getting hot it will make a bad smell.

NoNameExe · Apr 1, 2016

Hi.
I touched all the parts after some hours my PC was running and they was not very hot, just warm. As I said in another thread the 24pin cable was not completely tight for about 3 days. I checked for damaged pins or melted plastic but nothing. But once I re-plugged it the smell still remains. I really don't know when the smell started. The odd thing is that I should have absolutely other problems like crashes or fake boots, but nothing.

UP : Should I be worried about it? The smell should stop sooner or after, or my PC should explode

.

GhislainG · Apr 2, 2016

turkey3_scratch :

It looks like you have a bulged cap that also leaked, but it's easier for you to check since you can actually see them. Is the top of that cap and the two close to it totally flat?. What motherboard and how old is it?

Rogue Leader · Apr 2, 2016

GhislainG :

Thats an example photo of a bad cap, its not his actual photo, thats a few posts down.

GhislainG · Apr 2, 2016

If there are no leaking caps on the OP's motherboard, then the smell is from something else.

NoNameExe · Apr 2, 2016

So.. Thanks all for your support!
I read in several articles that at now days aluminum polymer capacitors can not bulge or become deformed because there is no liquid inside them. They can only "crack". This type of failure is visible to inexperienced users. There is nothing wrong with my capacitors

.
This is a big mistery. I think I will wait more time. Any other help is welcome.

turkey3_scratch · Apr 2, 2016

Perhaps you can shove a straw up your nose to pinpoint the smell to an exact location?

Turkey3_scratch is not responsible for any health issues.

NoNameExe · Apr 2, 2016

Hi. I already tried but I am pretty sure the smell comes from the location near the ram slots. Can rams emit odd smells? Did a memtest86+ 2 weeks ago and everything was fine.
UP : Seriously, WTF is wrong with my motherboard? It is frustrating...

Bad smell coming from my pc

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