I built my system 6 months ago and recently installed a GPU (XFX AMD HD Radeon 6970) And when I play a game like GTA IV or more powerful I noticed after about half an hour I smell a burning plastic smell the GPU is not over heating as I go into the catalyst software and it says its only running 50 (the website claims it could run at 100 and not cause damage) And I want to know where the smell is coming from so I can fix the problem and play the games my system was built for
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BiggestMunchkin
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Something's obviously hotter than it should be - can you check the temps of your other components?
While I don't think your graphics card should be *melting* at 50, that's really hotter than you should be aiming for. Is that a 50 idle or a 50 in game? What's your cooling system like?
While I don't think your graphics card should be *melting* at 50, that's really hotter than you should be aiming for. Is that a 50 idle or a 50 in game? What's your cooling system like?
BiggestMunchkin
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Maybe the graphics card isn't running hot, but surely something is! Burning plastic smell definitely indicates a problem somewhere! Thinking about it, maybe the best way to find out what's wrong is to open your case up and see what's melted?
vrumor
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It may be somewhere else, but you were telling him 50c is something to be concerned about with the temp of his graphics card. It is not. Since you covered the other stuff I didnt comment on that. But telling someone a 50c temp on his GPU whether its at idle or load is a concern is not correct.
BiggestMunchkin
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Fair point, I was trying to say it's not perfect - and if it's running 50 at idle it might be indicative of a cooling issue, but you're right that it wouldn't cause a problem like he's describing by itself, I should have made that clear.
FinneousPJ
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Onus
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What is the brand and model (not just wattage) of your PSU? For example, if it's an Apevia, melting under load is not uncommon (read the old Jonnyguru reviews of some of their units). Logisys, Diablotek, Sunbeam, and several others could be expected to perform similarly.
voodooking
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I can't tell you what you should do but I can tell you what I would do.
As a historian I can tell you that often indicators (gauges, ect..) are wrong. Sometimes to the deaths of people. If my nose smelled something burning from my computer case, I would shut it down and take everything apart until I found evidence of something going wrong. The great thing about smells is that they are generated from a state change and are usually accompanied discoloration or even disfigurement. Look for signs of melting or discoloration every where on the components of you case. If you have to take the power supply apart, I hope you know how to do that. If you don't try to get a YouTube video on how to do that.
Be carefull,
Jim
As a historian I can tell you that often indicators (gauges, ect..) are wrong. Sometimes to the deaths of people. If my nose smelled something burning from my computer case, I would shut it down and take everything apart until I found evidence of something going wrong. The great thing about smells is that they are generated from a state change and are usually accompanied discoloration or even disfigurement. Look for signs of melting or discoloration every where on the components of you case. If you have to take the power supply apart, I hope you know how to do that. If you don't try to get a YouTube video on how to do that.
Be carefull,
Jim
ohiou_grad_06
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DO NOT FOLLOW VOODOOKING'S ADVICE!!!! NEVER DISASSEMBLE A POWER SUPPLY! I agree with seeing if you can find where the smell is coming from, but the capacitors in a power supply carry enough voltage to give you a very good zap if not seriously injure you or kill. I know when I used to work on eMacs that had CRT monitors, we were supposed to have someone nearby in case we would get shocked on one, as crt monitors, and I think power supplies are similar, can kill you. Reason is there are capacitors in those things that carry voltage, and they store voltage even when the computer is not on.
There are guys that will take apart power supplies to replace fans, if that is what you want to do, have fun. But if you power supply is going bad, replace it. Download hardware monitor, run it before you run the game, then play the game. Nice thing about hwmonitor, it will tell you the max temp your card/cpu reached. Could be perhaps you are smelling thermal paste on the card or your CPU baking in. But when you start smelling that, see if you can pinpoint where it's coming from.
I also would question what power supply you are running. Novice builders sometimes make mistakes of going too cheap on their power supply. Which if the power supply goes out, you can take out your entire system with it.
There are guys that will take apart power supplies to replace fans, if that is what you want to do, have fun. But if you power supply is going bad, replace it. Download hardware monitor, run it before you run the game, then play the game. Nice thing about hwmonitor, it will tell you the max temp your card/cpu reached. Could be perhaps you are smelling thermal paste on the card or your CPU baking in. But when you start smelling that, see if you can pinpoint where it's coming from.
I also would question what power supply you are running. Novice builders sometimes make mistakes of going too cheap on their power supply. Which if the power supply goes out, you can take out your entire system with it.
voodooking
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Ohiou grad -
Calm down. Take a deep breath. Everything will be OK. many of us on here have taken apart powersupplies and know what we are doing. that is why I told him to do more research like going to Youtube and getting the videos ect. Here's the quote "If you have to take the power supply apart, I hope you know how to do that. If you don't try to get a YouTube video on how to do that.
"
Also, Go back to college and learn something from english class. You had to take at least 4 of them right? Your reading comprehension skills are horrible. All i was saying is what I would do. The OP as to decide for himself what he would do.
Calm down. Take a deep breath. Everything will be OK. many of us on here have taken apart powersupplies and know what we are doing. that is why I told him to do more research like going to Youtube and getting the videos ect. Here's the quote "If you have to take the power supply apart, I hope you know how to do that. If you don't try to get a YouTube video on how to do that.
"
Also, Go back to college and learn something from english class. You had to take at least 4 of them right? Your reading comprehension skills are horrible. All i was saying is what I would do. The OP as to decide for himself what he would do.
ohiou_grad_06
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Ok, first of all my reading comprehension skills are fine. English was actually always one of my easiest subjects, so do not insult me. Second, I have a 4 year college degree for IT. Third, I've worked in this field professionally for nearly 5 years since college, but been doing it as a hobby for much longer. I'm 31, my first pc was when I was 17, first computer was a commodore 64, and before I went to college, I was upgrading and building pc's.
Fourthly. No offense, but taking apart a power supply is not a very smart idea at all. If you know anything about electricity and capacitors, you know that those capacitors carry enough voltage to potentially kill a person, or injure. If you want to take your life in your hands, that's your business. More power to you. Myself, I would not take my life in my hands, especially not over a 50 dollar computer part. In fact I was just working on a pc the other day, the user complained it would not turn on. I plugged it in and turned it on to test it, soon as I did, I saw sparks and heard a sound like a .22 going off, one of the capacitors on the board had blown.
Regardless, the whole crack about many of us have taken apart power supplies. I would say maybe some, but most probably leave them alone. The manufacturers can't put on the label "do not open, no serviceable components inside" for no reason.
Voodoo, you may be a very good tech, and I can respect that, you may very well be a better technician than me, I've worked on laptops, desktops, servers, etc, but one thing I always learned was two things you never took apart were CRT's and power supplies. There are just things better left, and those are the two things I was taught you don't mess with.
Fourthly. No offense, but taking apart a power supply is not a very smart idea at all. If you know anything about electricity and capacitors, you know that those capacitors carry enough voltage to potentially kill a person, or injure. If you want to take your life in your hands, that's your business. More power to you. Myself, I would not take my life in my hands, especially not over a 50 dollar computer part. In fact I was just working on a pc the other day, the user complained it would not turn on. I plugged it in and turned it on to test it, soon as I did, I saw sparks and heard a sound like a .22 going off, one of the capacitors on the board had blown.
Regardless, the whole crack about many of us have taken apart power supplies. I would say maybe some, but most probably leave them alone. The manufacturers can't put on the label "do not open, no serviceable components inside" for no reason.
Voodoo, you may be a very good tech, and I can respect that, you may very well be a better technician than me, I've worked on laptops, desktops, servers, etc, but one thing I always learned was two things you never took apart were CRT's and power supplies. There are just things better left, and those are the two things I was taught you don't mess with.
FinneousPJ
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While I agree with all of your criticism of VoodooKing's advice, that criticism could be at a much lower intensity. Opening up a PSU to look for blown caps, or replace a dead fan, typically does not even expose any [dangerous] leads or circuit traces. No one suggested taking out the circuit board, poking at it with a tool, or performing a HardwareSecrets-style dissection. The advice may have needed better cautions and a little more detail to be properly safe, but was not as bad as you are suggesting.
For context, I'm 52, started messing around with electricity by 4; and more "dangerous" stuff by my teens.
For context, I'm 52, started messing around with electricity by 4; and more "dangerous" stuff by my teens.
vrumor
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Be that as it may, when you give someone who has no experience, or very little, the impression that it isnt dangerous and not even say "Hey it could seriously injure or kill you if you do it wrong, just watch this YouTube video" that is the worst advice ive heard in a long time. Ill never trust myself or any hardware I own to some dumbass on YouTube.
Onus
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One can never rule out the possibility that the "dumbass on YouTube" is a retired EE professor who never quite got teaching out of his system. But yeah, there are a lot of blooper reels out there too. Stronger warning language was needed, but the advice itself was not terrible. I've opened up a few PSUs (one to replace a fan, one a brand new POS out of a case just for laughs, another to make sure the fan was plugged in). Looking back on it, at no time was I "taking my life in my hands."
vrumor
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I understand that, but would you give that advice to someone you dont know, have no idea what his technical background is and think it was a good idea? Honestly? It says right on the PSU that there is no serviceable parts inside. I didnt watch the video but someone else on this said they did and wasnt impressed with it. Better safe than sorry always when dealing with hardware and especially stuff like a PSU. Not a rant on you, just on dumb advice.
FinneousPJ
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That's not how stuff works on the internet. I'm surprised you're still alive if that's the code you follow. Obviously you need to question everything on the internet, not think "hmm, this person could be an expert." :lol: yeah, right.
Onus
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I would have made sure to include much more careful warnings. I would not want the person's safety dependent on what he might find on YouTube. As FinneousPJ said:
No, the code I follow is "think for myself." I don't make assumptions about the information I'll find. There's a lot of [dangerous] junk out there, but there are also a lot of solid "how-to" type videos.
If I were guiding someone on general stuff (like building a PC), I might say "check for videos on YouTube." If I were giving advice on something dangerous, I would cite specific links, say why, and note what cautionary details other videos might be missing.
voodooking
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Guys relax. I've never seen a response on Tom's like this. It's not like I told the OP to go out in a lighting storm barefoot and stick a crowbar though his power supply then wave it around in the air.
Ths is what I said: "I can't tell you what you should do but I can tell you what I would do." This stament here takes into account that I do not know the OP. I have no idea what this person knows about electronics. They have to be capable of making their own descions. OK? Everyone got that part?
The next part that is germain to our discussin is: "If you have to take the power supply apart, I hope you know how to do that. If you don't try to get a YouTube video on how to do that." This means that taking apart a power supply is not someonthing that a novice should try. At this point of the post the OP needs to realize that maybe the words "IF!!!" You got that? "IF!" and then "I hope you know how to do that." mean that the OP needs to make an important descision on wheather he/she is capable of doing such an act as opening a power supply.
Finally I used the words: "Be carefull"
If these words aren't enough caution then too bad. I refuse to go overboard writing paragraphs about how someone needs to be careful because college grads can't get the message. Learn to read.
Ths is what I said: "I can't tell you what you should do but I can tell you what I would do." This stament here takes into account that I do not know the OP. I have no idea what this person knows about electronics. They have to be capable of making their own descions. OK? Everyone got that part?
The next part that is germain to our discussin is: "If you have to take the power supply apart, I hope you know how to do that. If you don't try to get a YouTube video on how to do that." This means that taking apart a power supply is not someonthing that a novice should try. At this point of the post the OP needs to realize that maybe the words "IF!!!" You got that? "IF!" and then "I hope you know how to do that." mean that the OP needs to make an important descision on wheather he/she is capable of doing such an act as opening a power supply.
Finally I used the words: "Be carefull"
If these words aren't enough caution then too bad. I refuse to go overboard writing paragraphs about how someone needs to be careful because college grads can't get the message. Learn to read.
FinneousPJ
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