[SOLVED] EVGA 970 Smells - No Load

[codyu]

I've noticed for a week or two that something has been messing with my nose/head. I eventually realized it was my PC, and after troubleshooting the psu/cpu/gpu, I found it was my 970. Its heat sink smells hot, but it's hard to put a finger on the exact smell. It doesn't smell like plastic burning or anything is about to catch fire, but for some reason it leaves me with constant migraines. I removed the shroud and used 99% iso. alcohol on it. I reapplied thermal paste and cleaned the whole pc. The smell is still there. The gpu has this issue even on startup just sitting at 25C under no load. Thinking about replacing it even though I'm not having performance issues.

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full hardware specs and OS.

Include PSU.

Provide more information about the GPU

Where did you buy the 970 and when? How old, new, used, refurbished?

GPU may be defective or counterfeit.

Immediate thing that you can do: Shutdown, let computer cool down, pull GPU.

Inspect very carefully using a bright flashlight and magnifying glass. Look for any signs of damage, swelling, browning, blackening, etc..

You may even find a spot where the odor is still strong.

 

[codyu]

Update your post to include full hardware specs and OS.

Include PSU.

Provide more information about the GPU

Where did you buy the 970 and when? How old, new, used, refurbished?

GPU may be defective or counterfeit.

Immediate thing that you can do: Shutdown, let computer cool down, pull GPU.

Inspect very carefully using a bright flashlight and magnifying glass. Look for any signs of damage, swelling, browning, blackening, etc..

You may even find a spot where the odor is still strong.

Old (~4-5years maybe):

PSU: Corsair CX750
GPU: EVGA SSC GTX970

Newer (~2-3months):

MOBO: MSI x570 Gaming Pro Carbon
CPU: AMD 3800x w/ Prism Cooler
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x8gb


I was worried about it being the CPU at first, but seems to be the GPU. I am also worried about the PSU as it is pretty old and cheap. I think I got the 970 from Newegg, newer stuff is from MicroCenter. When I pulled the shroud, I hadn't seen any bulging caps or obvious damage.

 

[Ralston18]

Are you able to test the GPU in another computer?

Or try another GPU in your computer?

Determine if the problem follows the GPU or stays with your computer.

Being a "smell" I would expect it to follow the GPU - but something else may turn up....

Caveat: if it does happen to be some PSU related problem then exposing another GPU to the PSU may have some risk.

Do you have multimeter and know how to use it? Or have a knowledgeable family member or friend who does?

Check out the old PSU;

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-manually-test-a-power-supply-with-a-multimeter-2626158

Again just as a matter of elimination and discovery.

 

[codyu]

Unfortunately, I don't have an extra psu or gpu, but I was thinking of borrowing my dmm from work for testing.