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Author Topic: A bang and smell of smoke? uh oh.....  (Read 2902 times)

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chrisradio

    Topic Starter


    Greenhorn

    A bang and smell of smoke? uh oh.....
    « on: December 17, 2007, 07:10:00 PM »
    so i bult my own pc about a year and a bit ago.. as follows:
    6600 intel duo core
    Asus P5B motherboard
    Nvidia Gforce 7900 GT(X?) not sure which
    1 gig of ddr2 ram
    using win xp

    It worked fine (to my suprise) and has had no problems whatsoever. until now.
    A few weeks ago i had a look at the temp. of the cpu. It was 70degrees C. Ive had a look for the specs for the 6600 and it says that 60 is the optimal temp. i thought thats ok theyre designed to work a bit hotter and as it had been working fine for over a year, thought no more of it.
    I moved my computer into another room today, and when i booted up, there were 3 or 4 beeps and an error on startup warning about the temp of the cpu. So i quickly powered off and had a look inside.
    it seems that the cpu fan/ heat sink had come loose and wasnt in contact with the cpu. So i took it off completely and reapplied thermal paste and put it back on.
    So i started up the pc again and everything worked...i got to windows and it was fine. checked the temperature of the cpu and it says 90 degrees...uh oh! so im about to turn off the power and a sound in between a click and a bang was heard. Dreading what i would see i looked inside and found a smell of smoke but no noticable damage to the cpu or motherboard. That was 10 minutes ago and havnt dared turn anything on again. Im a bit worried that its actually the psu (its only a 450W) but it hasnt been a problem before. What is the likely problem? Have a applied the thermal paste wrongly or could the overheating of the cpu somehow cause damage to the psu?
    Ill try rebooting the pc now and give you an update....

    chrisradio

      Topic Starter


      Greenhorn

      Re: A bang and smell of smoke? uh oh.....
      « Reply #1 on: December 17, 2007, 07:37:30 PM »
      so ive put it all back together and.... nothing.
      Had a look inside the case and when i turn power on there are no standby lights on the graphics card like there usually is. If it was the cpu which had burnt out wouldnt the fans still start up? this makes me think its the psu which has gone?
      I dont want to have to get a new psu when i dont know why the processor is overheating so much...im reading through other posts and it seems like most people have cpu temps of 30 to 50.
      Any help would be very appreciated.

      homer



        Expert
        Re: A bang and smell of smoke? uh oh.....
        « Reply #2 on: December 17, 2007, 08:18:34 PM »
        no lights on startup + no fans on startup = PSU failure (assuming that the power supply is turned on via the back disconnect.)

        your CPU temps might be high for two reasons, or a combo of both.

        1. your CPU fan died
        2. the dying PSU was over volting the CPU

        i would recommend a new PSU, hopefully it didnt take any other hardware with it.

        chrisradio

          Topic Starter


          Greenhorn

          Re: A bang and smell of smoke? uh oh.....
          « Reply #3 on: December 17, 2007, 08:35:34 PM »
          yep so i guess a new psu - i think im doing something wrong with the pcu though....i think its always been overheating a little. What are the probable causes? when i took off the cpu fan the first time it seemed that the thermal paste had been applied perfectly with a thin covering across the whole surface. Could the cpu fan not be up to the job even though it was the one intel supplied with the cpu? im thinking that i will take this down to a repair shop and let them sort it out. ive usually sorted problems out myself so ive no idea how much it would cost me - any ideas?
          thanks for the quick reply already.

          homer



            Expert
            Re: A bang and smell of smoke? uh oh.....
            « Reply #4 on: December 17, 2007, 08:51:17 PM »
            the overheating could be caused by improper installation of the CPU heatsink, as the CPU heatsink would not have fallen off if properly installed. review the instructions on mounting the heatsink.

            P.S. i have always tested my heatsinks by gently tugging on all four corners individually after installing them. if it is properly installed, the corners will not pop up once tugged on.

            patio

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            Re: A bang and smell of smoke? uh oh.....
            « Reply #5 on: December 18, 2007, 05:40:44 AM »
            Thermal Paste Instructions

            Too much is just as bad as not enough.

            Don't buy a cheap PSU...or you will be replacing that CPU.
            " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "