Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Reply to this thread

Forum question

Started by Thazzrill | | 7 answers
Smell from PSU
Hello,

So about a week ago I noticed this weird smell from my psu, sort of like burning plastic. I checked everything and opened the pc, checked all the cables etc and everything was just fine, but I noticed the smell coming from the upper part of my pc, the psu. It stopped after a bit and wasn't bad at all but a few hours back it started smelling a bit worse than before and I feel like it might be a bit stronger. Now it's kind of between burned plastic and burned wood almost. I am going to get a new psu but it's not going to arrive in 1-3 days, so can I actually use the pc as it is, or is it going to spark and blow up my entire rig, as it's not really a super expensive psu, and has been in the pc for about 4 years.
Thanks. :) 
  • By posting on this site, I confirm I am over 13 years of age and agree to abide by the site’s rules.

September 29, 2014 5:01:16 PM

So I just opened it up, took out the psu and look around, I also cleaned out some of the dust. I inpected it and i noticed on the back side where the screws are at, that in one place looked like there was no screw at all. I looked closer and it seems like the screw is kind of black and has only like a shell of it, but all in all it's not too noticable. Could that be the case?
September 29, 2014 4:21:21 PM

There's simply know way to answer your question .... it could fail in 3 minutes and it could go for 3 months.
September 29, 2014 3:48:30 PM

I'm getting a new one, but it's going to take about 2 days for it to arrive. Can I actually use my pc, or is it going to blow up and start a fire?
September 29, 2014 3:45:09 PM

I'd replace it. Get a Seasonic M12II 520 - $67 at Newegg.
September 29, 2014 3:36:01 PM



This is what it looks like, as I said it's not really a good PSU, but it has worked quite good. Also PC configuration is
Athlon II x4 2.6ghz
Radeon 6670 2GB
8gb RAM.
I checked the temperature the cpu is completely normal.
September 29, 2014 3:30:58 PM

What make and model? How old?

PC build? Hot weather?
September 29, 2014 3:29:24 PM

Never know... sounds like insulation is burning or and / or caps failing .... if it goes to far, could be a meltdown

See all answers