Burning smell on new rig

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:43

Ok, I'm starting to build a new rig (look in sig) and so far I have the case, motherboard, power supply and HD.

Today I placed the motherboard/PS in the case and hooked all the power cables up etc. Now I know it's working because I tried it - i.e pressing the power button on the case started the case fans up, north bridge fan etc.

My problem is that after approx 5 seconds I could smell a slight burning smell so I switched off.

I didn't think there was a problem powering up a motherboard minus CP etc? Is this smell because it's new? Is it because there's no CPU and fan installed? Have I well and truly busted everything up?

I'm an impatient guy and need to test kit as it arrives, but I hope I've not blown the board etc.

Oh and yeah I have tried it since the burning smell and it does still power on etc (fans working, lights on the MB etc) but after a few seconds the smell appears again.

hardc0re_tid · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:48

stick your nose in and have a stiff, dont turn it on again and do this, dont want to get the blame for singed hair, where abouts does the smell seem to be the strongest.

EDIT: just seen your sig and the expensive hardware you have/are about to put in.... holey moley, hope you havnt damaged anything.

wait for someone else to come along and give you more advice. but go ahead and have a quick stiff over the board and psu. but DONT turn it on, and unplug it from the wall!

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:55

Thanks for the quick reply. When it was on I smelt the PSU and that seemed fine, it seemed to be coming from the MB more than anything.

The MB was opened and placed straight on the MB mounting screws when I received it. I didn't fart about with it and all the cables seem right (as you probably know you cant really put them in the wrong place nowadays anyway)

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 14:28

Update:

I've tested the PSU on another PC and the smell isn't coming from that, so it must be the MB?

hardc0re_tid · 17 Jan 2007 at 14:38

what do you mean you placed it onto the mobo mounting screws, the brass things?

did u screw it into the case using the brass riser pin things or did you screw it directly to the case chassis?

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 14:56

I screwed the riser screws onto the MB plate and then placed the MB on top of the risers, and screwed it down.

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 16:15

Two more points I'd like to add.

The EVGA 680i is a hot board, maybe that's why? a combination of a hot/new board. Also, my case blows a LOT of air about, so maybe that's why I can smell it more as it's not being trapped in the case?

hardc0re_tid · 17 Jan 2007 at 16:22

Saxon said:
Two more points I'd like to add.

The EVGA 680i is a hot board, maybe that's why? a combination of a hot/new board. Also, my case blows a LOT of air about, so maybe that's why I can smell it more as it's not being trapped in the case?

lol i highly doubt that evga would produce boards that gave off burning smells... unless you got a bad one, if so sounds like an RMA is on its way to me.

but no i doubt they would produce boards that would smell like they are burning, otherwise people would complain of the smell in their rooms.

sounds like a faulty board to me. even if that board runs hot their shouldnt be a burning smell.

dont connect anything to it, cpu, gpu etc as you risk damaging them too if the board is faulty. RMA it and dont let on that you powered it up with nothing connected to it.

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 16:34

Do you know if the MB can be damaged without a CPU/memory/GFX card connected? I'd have thought it would have just failed the POST. I'm gonna power it up one last time with nothing connected and see if it gets worse. I suppose if it's knackered already, it can't do anymore harm.

Thanks for the replies again.

hardc0re_tid · 17 Jan 2007 at 16:37

no probs, like i said wait for someone with a bit more knowledge than i to come and share their views.

no, i dont know if turning on a system with nothing attatched will cause damage just doesnt seem like a good idea to do thats all. (not saying your stupid, just something i wouldnt have done)

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 16:49

I'm impatient

The reason I did it was because I did the same thing with an ASRock MB a few years ago and it was fine. Fingers crossed it's ok. The MB lights still come on and the North Bridge fan works, as does the power on via the case button so I'm still not gonna give up on it (by the way I decided not to switch it on again)

hardc0re_tid · 17 Jan 2007 at 16:53

Saxon said:
(by the way I decided not to switch it on again)

sounds a good idea.

im the same, very impatient but like i say wait untill you get another opinion from someone else you dont want to go and stick that 8800 and kentsfield in and the whole lot go bang... hey if your going to go ahead and do it just give them to me

FrostedNipple · 17 Jan 2007 at 16:57

take off the mobo, i had this prob a while back, lots of smoke, turned out i had a screw wedged under, luckily it was earth to a massive power rail, so no damage was done, but just check

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 17:56

Thanks for the feedback. I'll have a look into the screws and see if there's a problem.

steve258 · 17 Jan 2007 at 18:08

Did the mobo beep at all when you fired it up?? Without the RAM or CPU the mobo should beep as warnings.

Yeah take the setup away from your room and your case and connected them up and try turning it on in a different environment without the case and see if the smell still exist.

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 18:13

No beep. The MB has an LCD to display errors (not sure if this replaces the beeps). Also I have no speaker on the case. Should it still beep without one?

I'll take the board out of the case and try. Is is ok to power on with the MB on the anti-static bag on a wooden desk?

alex2zulu · 17 Jan 2007 at 18:15

im betting that it was a wire resting/rubbing on a chip/component, it happend to me once, the northbridge got smoked because of a mobo usb extention wire resting on it , thermo induction or something, cant remember exactly, but needed a new mobo *warrenty*

wasnt my doing by the way, just got a friend of the family to build it ,(3 1/2 years ago)

drunkenmonkey · 17 Jan 2007 at 18:29

id just rma the motherboard and not take a risk with such expensive components! .....if they find nothing wrong with it your only gonna lose the postage and best to let them test it out on their rig!

Saxon · 17 Jan 2007 at 19:20

Ok some good news I think. I took out the motherboard and placed it on a cardboard box and turned it on again. There was no smell at all this time. All three lights were on on the MB, the north bridge fan was running as well as the case fans again. The Error code LCD has "- -" written on it, but there were no beeps so I'm presuming all is ok and the beeps aren't there because of the LCD. There appears to be no speaker on the motherboard.

I placed it back in the case and tried it again and there was no smell then either so I'm hoping all is ok? I'll leave it alone for now till I get some more components to test it with.

Thanks to all who helped.

LoadsaMoney · 17 Jan 2007 at 19:27

hardc0re_tid said:
stick your nose in and have a stiff, dont turn it on again and do this, dont want to get the blame for singed hair, where abouts does the smell seem to be the strongest.

EDIT: just seen your sig and the expensive hardware you have/are about to put in.... holey moley, hope you havnt damaged anything.

wait for someone else to come along and give you more advice. but go ahead and have a quick stiff over the board and psu. but DONT turn it on, and unplug it from the wall!

I doubt he'd ave a stiff if his mobo was going up in flames.

I wouldn't advise having a stiff over ther board either. :eek: