Strange weak smell from computer

[Jonas Dixon]

Recently i've noticed a strange smell in my room and i think it's coming from my computer. The smell isn't strong and i can't really describe it, it's just odd. My computer is approximately 3 years old exept for the motherboard wich is 1 year old. I have a MSI Z97x Krait mobo, a GTX 780 card, a i7 4770 cpu and a Corsair 750 watt PSU wich i think is gold certified.

Any help is really appreciated!

 

[Darthutos]

take off the side panel. get a magnifying glass. start looking counterclockwise starting around the cpu cooler and gradually outward. until every area of mobo is seen via magnifying glass. do you see any thing bulging or has some dry liquid around anything?

Turn off the computer. then.

Take off the gpu. put it in another room. after 30 minutes. smell it. is it the same smell? If so, it's burnt? or something growing on it?

Take off the cpu cooler only if you are technically competent and comfortable, isolate it the same way as the gpu. after 30 minutes. smell it. maybe mold growing on the fins?

Next the same thing for the power supply.

 

[Jonas Dixon]

take off the side panel. get a magnifying glass. start looking counterclockwise starting around the cpu cooler and gradually outward. until every area of mobo is seen via magnifying glass. do you see any thing bulging or has some dry liquid around anything?

Turn off the computer. then.

Take off the gpu. put it in another room. after 30 minutes. smell it. is it the same smell? If so, it's burnt? or something growing on it?

Take off the cpu cooler only if you are technically competent and comfortable, isolate it the same way as the gpu. after 30 minutes. smell it. maybe mold growing on the fins?

Next the same thing for the power supply.

Thanks for the fast answer! I checked the mobo around the cpu and everything seemed fine, then i checked the pcb of the graphics card and there seemed to be dust everywhere except on a few spots. I touched one of theese spots and it was a bit sticky like there was a thin layer of some sort of liquid on it. I smelled it and it smelled burnt. The spots aren't dark and there aren't any aparent signs of a burn. Is it burnt dust or something similar? My GPU temps are around 75°C under load wich i believe is normal for a 780.

 

[coozie7]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from Jonas Dixon : "Weak burning smell from GPU"

Recently i noticed a strange smell in my room and i narrowed it down to my computer and then to my GPU. The GPU has a thin layer of dust on the pcb and therefore looks dusty except on a few spots where the pcb looks clear. However those clear spots are covered by a thin layer of clear paste that smells burnt. I'm guessing the dust on the pcb somehow melted?? My GPU is a GTX 780 and it's about 3 years old. I'ts got a two fan from EVGA and its temps are around 75°C at load with the fans not maxing out.

I'm wondering if my GPU is screwed or if i can somehow clean it and if so how?

Any help is really appreciated!

The only thing I'd use to clean the actual PCB is a contact cleaner spray, some car parts shops will carry it as will electrical parts suppliers.

To use it just pop out the card, take it outside and give the PCB a liberal blast, shoot the stuff from about 6" (150mm) so the jet can lift that old dust and crud off.
These cleaners are designed and formulated for this kind of use, don't be afraid to get the PCB 'wet' the cleaner will evaporate in a few minuets and will leave nothing behind.

WARNINGS!
This stuff is a strong solvent, use it ONLY outside.
If you have sensitive skin or just want to be extra safe, wear rubber gloves.
Wear eye protection, even a tiny splash hurts like hell and a larger amount will require a visit to the hospital. I mean it. Don't mess around with your eyes, you only have two and when they're gone they're gone.

Suggestion:
This is an EVGA card, so stripping it down to give the heatsink and fans a thorough clean won't invalidate the warranty, you might also want to go the whole hog and strip the heatsink assembly off for a real deep clean and to replace the thermal paste.
And BTW, that contact cleaner is excellent for removing thermal paste from around the GPU core.

 

[Jonas Dixon]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from Jonas Dixon : "Weak burning smell from GPU"

Recently i noticed a strange smell in my room and i narrowed it down to my computer and then to my GPU. The GPU has a thin layer of dust on the pcb and therefore looks dusty except on a few spots where the pcb looks clear. However those clear spots are covered by a thin layer of clear paste that smells burnt. I'm guessing the dust on the pcb somehow melted?? My GPU is a GTX 780 and it's about 3 years old. I'ts got a two fan from EVGA and its temps are around 75°C at load with the fans not maxing out.

I'm wondering if my GPU is screwed or if i can somehow clean it and if so how?

Any help is really appreciated!

The only thing I'd use to clean the actual PCB is a contact cleaner spray, some car parts shops will carry it as will electrical parts suppliers.

To use it just pop out the card, take it outside and give the PCB a liberal blast, shoot the stuff from about 6" (150mm) so the jet can lift that old dust and crud off.
These cleaners are designed and formulated for this kind of use, don't be afraid to get the PCB 'wet' the cleaner will evaporate in a few minuets and will leave nothing behind.

WARNINGS!
This stuff is a strong solvent, use it ONLY outside.
If you have sensitive skin or just want to be extra safe, wear rubber gloves.
Wear eye protection, even a tiny splash hurts like hell and a larger amount will require a visit to the hospital. I mean it. Don't mess around with your eyes, you only have two and when they're gone they're gone.

Suggestion:
This is an EVGA card, so stripping it down to give the heatsink and fans a thorough clean won't invalidate the warranty, you might also want to go the whole hog and strip the heatsink assembly off for a real deep clean and to replace the thermal paste.
And BTW, that contact cleaner is excellent for removing thermal paste from around the GPU core.

Thanks for the great advice! I have some arctic silver thermal paste at home, would that work for the GPU core or would you need some special kind of thermal paste? Also, do you have any idea why this might have happened and how i could prevent it in the futute.

 

[letfreedomring]

It's frying inside. Fix it ASAP!

 

[Jonas Dixon]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from Jonas Dixon : "Weak burning smell from GPU"

Recently i noticed a strange smell in my room and i narrowed it down to my computer and then to my GPU. The GPU has a thin layer of dust on the pcb and therefore looks dusty except on a few spots where the pcb looks clear. However those clear spots are covered by a thin layer of clear paste that smells burnt. I'm guessing the dust on the pcb somehow melted?? My GPU is a GTX 780 and it's about 3 years old. I'ts got a two fan from EVGA and its temps are around 75°C at load with the fans not maxing out.

I'm wondering if my GPU is screwed or if i can somehow clean it and if so how?

Any help is really appreciated!

The only thing I'd use to clean the actual PCB is a contact cleaner spray, some car parts shops will carry it as will electrical parts suppliers.

To use it just pop out the card, take it outside and give the PCB a liberal blast, shoot the stuff from about 6" (150mm) so the jet can lift that old dust and crud off.
These cleaners are designed and formulated for this kind of use, don't be afraid to get the PCB 'wet' the cleaner will evaporate in a few minuets and will leave nothing behind.

WARNINGS!
This stuff is a strong solvent, use it ONLY outside.
If you have sensitive skin or just want to be extra safe, wear rubber gloves.
Wear eye protection, even a tiny splash hurts like hell and a larger amount will require a visit to the hospital. I mean it. Don't mess around with your eyes, you only have two and when they're gone they're gone.

Suggestion:
This is an EVGA card, so stripping it down to give the heatsink and fans a thorough clean won't invalidate the warranty, you might also want to go the whole hog and strip the heatsink assembly off for a real deep clean and to replace the thermal paste.
And BTW, that contact cleaner is excellent for removing thermal paste from around the GPU core.

I tried removing the dirt with a rag and it actually came off easier than i expected. However it seems that the actual pcb is slightly burnt where the capacitors are but the capacitors look fine. What should i do?

 

[Darthutos]

any chance you can rma the gpu? I know 780 is an older generation card but depends on when you bought it.

 

[coozie7]

Bit late, time differences.
And the intervention of Wild Hunt. 😉

Arctic Silver is a fine paste but I'd suggest against usi8ng it on a GPU, the die is often surrounded by many small components and Arctic Silver is electrically conductive, in this case I'd use something else.

Darthutos raises an interesting point: I think the card is an EVGA one and my still be under warranty coverage, with some fairly obvious PCB damage looking into a possible RMA is definitely worthwhile.

If you cannot gain an RMA there's nothing else you can reasonably do other than use that cleaner stuff to fully clean and residue off the PCB and hope for the best.