Help, burning smell coming from power supply unit

Introns

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May 28, 2011
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hi, long time lurker first time poster,

So, I recently upgraded my graphic card on my relatively new Dell XPS whose PSU only matches the minimum requirement mentioned by the card's manufacture and, after a few hours of none-continuous gaming (crysis/crysis 2 max-out at 1080p... not a very good move apparently), I started realizing that a hot burning air was coming out of my psu's exhaust. At first, the smell only remained while I'm running the games but since today, there seems to be a small lingering odor that persists even when the PSU is running cold. The smell isn't very noticeable (I can only smell it when I lean over to the back of my PC) but it's not a smell that was present before. I am definitely not going to risk my pc, so I'm expecting to replace my PSU asap but my questions are

1) Is my PSU permanently damage (if not, I would probably resell it to cover up the cost of a brand new power supply)

2) Can I still use my PC for less demanding applications (internet, etc.) in the mean time without risking damaging other parts of my pc

3) What ATX PSU would you recommend for a dell XPS 8100 to insure that this doesn't happen again

Thank you very much!
 

calinkula

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Jul 26, 2008
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1) You've probably roasted it some, not good to resell since there is no way to tell when it'll blow out.

2) In theory yes, but I wouldn't risk it on a sketchy PSU.

3) A good PSU by Antec, Corsair, other reputable brand would be fine. In the 500 ~ 600 watt range would be plenty. A good deal will get you one around $50 or so.
 

ATi RaDEoN

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Sep 6, 2010
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Don't be surprised if your cheap PSU blows up or make strange smells, change it immediately if you don't want your PC to die. You may although clean it, but I would not recommend you putting it up with that idiotic smell.