Burning smell from PSU after CPU upgrade

[hellodarren2000]

I have a really old computer (an imedia s3720) and recently upgraded the Intel Celeron E32000 to an Intel Core 2 Duo E8600. However, I noticed a faint smell of burning (a bit metalicy?) which gets worse under heavy load. This smell seems to be coming from the back of the PSU. I switched the CPU back to the old one and now there is no smell at all again. Can my PSU just not handle the new CPU? Or is it somewhat okay and can be ignored?

This is my speccy: http://i.imgur.com/8JMekux.png

 

[hellodarren2000]

Oh and I checked the new CPU's temp under load and it was something like 70C and much lower when idle so I don't think it's the CPU overheating.

 

[xFeaRDom]

[strike]I can probably take a guess here, and that is that you've killed the new CPU. The socket that you current have is a PPGA478 socket, and the E8400 is an LGA775, so they are not physically compatible. This is because they will have different pins, you would need to look for another CPU from that socket for it to be compatible.[/strike]


Ignore this, clicked the wrong link and information is not correct.

 

[misteriosly]

I can probably take a guess here, and that is that you've killed the new CPU. The socket that you current have is a PPGA478 socket, and the E8400 is an LGA775, so they are not physically compatible. This is because they will have different pins, you would need to look for another CPU from that socket for it to be compatible.

Cpu - 1 http://ark.intel.com/products/42770/Intel-Celeron-Processor-E3200-1M-Cache-2_40-GHz-800-MHz-FSB
Cpu -2 http://ark.intel.com/products/35605/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E8600-6M-Cache-3_33-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB
Where did you saw this about the socket ?

@hellodarren how old is your PSU, and what is your PSU ? It is possible that its dying.

 

[hellodarren2000]

Weird. I checked the motherboard website and it said that CPU was compatible. I didn't encounter any problems installing it.

 

[xFeaRDom]

I can probably take a guess here, and that is that you've killed the new CPU. The socket that you current have is a PPGA478 socket, and the E8400 is an LGA775, so they are not physically compatible. This is because they will have different pins, you would need to look for another CPU from that socket for it to be compatible.

Cpu - 1 http://ark.intel.com/products/42770/Intel-Celeron-Processor-E3200-1M-Cache-2_40-GHz-800-MHz-FSB
Cpu -2 http://ark.intel.com/products/35605/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E8600-6M-Cache-3_33-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB
Where did you saw this about the socket ?

@hellodarren how old is your PSU, and what is your PSU ? It is possible that its dying.

Oops, my bad!

Just realised I clicked the wrong link from Intel...

And yeah, it could be a possible PSU issue.

Also, did you replace the thermal paste when you put the CPU back into the socket? That may make temperatures increase.

 

[hellodarren2000]

I think this is the PSU which I've had since I bought the PC about maybe 4 years ago: http://microdream.co.uk/hipro-hp-d250aa0-250w-psu-power-supply.html

Both the old and new CPU don't have thermal paste on.

 

[xFeaRDom]

I think this is the PSU which I've had since I bought the PC about maybe 4 years ago: http://microdream.co.uk/hipro-hp-d250aa0-250w-psu-power-supply.html

Both the old and new CPU don't have thermal paste on.

Are they passive cooled or do you have a CPU cooler on them?

If the new CPU works, try switching to that and measure the temperatures. And also see if the smell is coming from the PSU.

Don't forget, that the new CPU may drag more power on startups and things due to it being older and less efficient.

The smell could be for many reasons, such as dust burning due to the PSU getting warmer, or it could be something in the PSU failing and needing the PSU to be replaced. Is there any smoke when you had the smell?

 

[hellodarren2000]

The CPU has a fan on top of it. I've checked the temperatures on both CPUs and they seem okay. The smell persists even after being on all day. Smell definitely seems to be coming from out the back of the PSU and no smoke at all.

 

[xFeaRDom]

The CPU has a fan on top of it. I've checked the temperatures on both CPUs and they seem okay. The smell persists even after being on all day. Smell definitely seems to be coming from out the back of the PSU and no smoke at all.

May be a silly question. But is there a spare PSU that you can use that can be used on your Motherboard? Or if not, is there any chance you could find one or borrow one? Have you also looked inside the PSU box (Not take it apart but through the grills - Use a torch for better lighting inside, and see if there is any obvious physical damage inside, or to see if it is filled with dust, which old PSUs seem to have.

 

[hellodarren2000]

I don't have a spare PSU. I had a look through the PSU mesh with a torch but it's very hard to see much. The CPU fan was rather dusty when I swapped the CPUs around though. If the smell is just burning dust then I'm not sure why it would smell metallicy.

 

[hellodarren2000]

Wow!

So I opened the PSU and there were a fair few blobs of dust over the components along one end of the PSU. I cleaned those off with a screwdriver and gave the board some hearty blows. The fan blades had a light dusting of dust too but nothing major. Put it back together and installed the new CPU again.

The computer has been on for a good few hours now and I'm not smelling anything! Even had it under full load a few times.

 

[xFeaRDom]

Wow!

So I opened the PSU and there were a fair few blobs of dust over the components along one end of the PSU. I cleaned those off with a screwdriver and gave the board some hearty blows. The fan blades had a light dusting of dust too but nothing major. Put it back together and installed the new CPU again.

The computer has been on for a good few hours now and I'm not smelling anything! Even had it under full load a few times.

That's good Bit risky opening the PSU but as long as you're careful you're fine.

Glad that helped you, and enjoy the new CPU.

Have a great day!

 

[hellodarren2000]

Thank your for the assistance!