[SOLVED] Computer shut down, rebooted with loud fan noise, plastic smell, no picture. Suspected GPU, but maybe not?

[best_wink]

Hey.

So about a week ago my computer randomly turned itself off when I was watching YouTube. After a few seconds it turned itself back on and was making a very loud, aggressive fan noise, unlike anything I've heard it do before. (It just sounded like the fan was running at a very high RPM, not like it was obstructed by anything). I also didn't get any picture on my monitor.

Anyway, unnerved by the noise I turned the computer off, at which point I noticed a strong smell of burnt plastic. I left the computer alone for about 15 minutes, and then tried turning it back on. This time I still didn't get any picture on the monitor, but the fan noise was gone. I restarted to see if I could get picture, but this time the fan noise was back. I turned the computer off again, and suspecting something was up with my GPU (Gainward GeForce GTX 960) I removed it. The card smelled pretty heavily of burnt plastic. So I figured my GPU was dead and ordered a new GPU. Meanwhile I ran the computer using the integrated GPU, which seemed to work fine. No shutdowns or unexpected fan noises.

Yesterday my new GPU (MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GAMING X 6G) arrived and I installed it. To try it out I played Halo: Reach for a few hours, while monitoring temps and it was smooth with reasonable temperatures (around 60°C). Then I had dinner while watching YouTube, and some computer fan started making a lot of noise again. But the sound was different than last time, sounding not quite as aggressive. I couldn't quite localize the sound as I turned my computer off out of fear, but it sounded like it came from either the GPU or the PSU. No smell this time, but I didn't let it go on for more than the minute it took for the computer to shutdown. Regrettably, I didn't check hwmonitor while this was happening, as I closed it after I stopped playing Reach. My GPU idle temp is about 60°C (140 F), which I can't tell if it's high for this card as I have no experience with it. Seems a bit high compared to my GTX 960 though.

I tried running RE2 Remake for about an hour too. It's stable at near max settings and GPU temp is at about 55-65°C. No weird noise, except the fan revving up normally from 0RPM (which was a bit weird since I haven't had a card that does that before).

So just to clarify, the first time it happened was completely out of the blue. I've never had any issues like this with the GTX 960 or the computer in general before; not while playing games and not while idling.

Anyone have any idea what's going on here? I'm a bit scared of even using the computer now, I don't want my new card to get desroyed.

My current specs:
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i5 4690K @ 3.50GHz 38 °C (100 F)
Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM
8,00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
MSI Z97-G43 (MS-7816) (SOCKET 0) 31 °C (87 F)
Graphics
LG TV (1920x1080@60Hz)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (MSI) 61 °C (141 F)
Storage
111GB KINGSTON SV300S37A120G (SATA-2 (SSD)) 26 °C (78 F)
931GB Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB10C (SATA ) 27 °C (80 F)
Optical Drives
ASUS DRW-24F1MT
Audio
NVIDIA High Definition Audio
PSU
Corsair CX500

Additional details: I've owned the computer for about 4 years, so that's the age of all components except the 1660 Ti. I've not been very diligent cleaning the computer, but that's partly because I've had no need. It is currently dust free, as I cleaned it thoroughly after the first incident, but it didn't have a lot of dust build-up anyway. No dust motes obstructing fans, just loose dust on surfaces as far as I could tell.

 

[Rdslw]

Well I would say its time for better PSU.
Its old and 500W is close to MAX in its prime.
I suspect that PSU did damage the card as it was loaded (as 960 NEED 500W PSU as minimum) and ripples did damage the capacitors. (if you have the card, OPEN IT and check where is the damage.

this kind of damage means I should be right:
https://cdn.neow.in/forum/uploads/monthly_08_2012/post-37120-0-88687100-1346451202_thumb.jpg


I would do 3 things in your shoes now.

1. check other components for damage. Same burned plastic smell or swelled capacitors (you can use knife edge to check, just make sure POWER is off).
2. check that card and make notes of suspected damage.
3. check if you will not find any cheap PSU from that list:

https://cdn.neow.in/forum/uploads/monthly_08_2012/post-37120-0-88687100-1346451202_thumb.jpg
anything from S to 3 is good, 4-6 is undesired, better to have them with 100W more juice than needed,
avoid others at all cost.

 

[best_wink]

Thanks for your reply!

I’ve checked the old card and the motherboard for any indicators of damage now. Nothing visual like swelled capacitors or burns anywhere, that I can see. Only the smell from the GPU, which is very faint now as it’s not been in use for a week. Not sure what you mean by using a knife edge though. Is to too see if they are straight?

Do you think it’s safe to use the computer if I disconnect the GPU?

I guess I’ll have to purchase a new PSU regardless. I think you may have forgotten to include the list you’re referring to by the way

 

[Rdslw]

Thanks for your reply!

I’ve checked the old card and the motherboard for any indicators of damage now. Nothing visual like swelled capacitors or burns anywhere, that I can see. Only the smell from the GPU, which is very faint now as it’s not been in use for a week. Not sure what you mean by using a knife edge though. Is to too see if they are straight?

Do you think it’s safe to use the computer if I disconnect the GPU?

I guess I’ll have to purchase a new PSU regardless. I think you may have forgotten to include the list you’re referring to by the way

the URL:

PSU Hierarchy (Nov. 2025) - Power Supply Unit List

Here is the ultimate list-based hierarchy of all power supply units. We've ranked them in 8 different tiers so you can easily find out if your PSU is good!

www.gamingscan.com

and the knife is used to make sure head of the capacitor is swelled.
if knife touches the corners and middle at same time, capacitor is fine, if it has enough roundness on the top to give you problems with that, its damaged.