Smelling my PSU

[CrippledROBOT]

This is a weird question for the community but I'm curious to hear what everyone has to say. 

 

Fire up your computer and put it under load. Smell your PSU, what does it smell like? Does it just get hot or does it have a distinctive smell at all? I have a 3 week old Seasonic SSR650W-PX that works beautifully. However my case is extremely small and wires are crammed on top of it (see pics). The PSU DOES have a vent where it can suck in cool air. I sit about a foot or 2 away from my case and don't smell a thing but if I lean into the PSU vent hole (see case pic), I can smell like a hot metal/hot computery smell. It's hard to describe. 

 

Is this normal?

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

u know those wall power supplies to charge up things and what not, they give probably a similar smell, some chips/capacitors and what not just start to smell when they deliver power :v in most cases just fine, some cases its bad tho ( if it smells rly burnt n bad )

[IronSoldier]

That's my fetish

 

Solder, heat sinks and all those things. It's fine. That#s how technology smells. 

[CrippledROBOT]

3 minutes ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

u know those wall power supplies to charge up things and what not, they give probably a similar smell, some chips/capacitors and what not just start to smell when they deliver power :v in most cases just fine, some cases its bad tho ( if it smells rly burnt n bad )

So what I'm experiencing is completely normal? No need for a return?

[CrippledROBOT]

4 minutes ago, IronSoldier said:

That's my fetish

 

Solder, heat sinks and all those things. It's fine. That#s how technology smells. 

Does your PSU have a "certain smell" too?

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

Just now, CrippledROBOT said:

So what I'm experiencing is completely normal? No need for a return?

i cant smell it so i couldnt tell, a slight smell is usually normal though, if u are concerned u can always run some temperature laser on it or similar to it however i think it is fine from wht i hear... dont go easy on PSU,s though, if it goes hot u can always drill some holes in the case and what not

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

2 minutes ago, CrippledROBOT said:

Does your PSU have a "certain smell" too?

my current psu does not but my old psu had a certain smell to it and i have touched many psus in my life, each had their own smell basicly ;P especially the really old ones haha they smell so bad

 

they smell like when u buy new products... u know that plastic smell right? but then like smelling like steel ish

[CrippledROBOT]

1 minute ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

my current psu does not but my old psu had a certain smell to it and i have touched many psus in my life, each had their own smell basicly ;P especially the really old ones haha they smell so bad

Could it just be like internal grease getting warm then? When idling, even when you stick your face in it, there is next to no scent at all. At load over time and the unit heats up and you stick your face in it, it's detectable

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

Just now, CrippledROBOT said:

Could it just be like internal grease getting warm then? When idling, even when you stick your face in it, there is next to no scent at all. At load over time and the unit heats up and you stick your face in it, it's detectable

some thermal paste has a extreme silver smell to it it could be that yes

 

i remember adapters also only smelling when they are heating up but yeah.. i would still check on the temps carefully P;   i still think its normal though but i cant judge because i dont have the psu in front of my nose / here

[CrippledROBOT]

4 minutes ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

my current psu does not but my old psu had a certain smell to it and i have touched many psus in my life, each had their own smell basicly ;P especially the really old ones haha they smell so bad

 

they smell like when u buy new products... u know that plastic smell right? but then like smelling like steel ish

Yeah that's kinda the smell I'm trying to describe

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

1 minute ago, CrippledROBOT said:

Yeah that's kinda the smell I'm trying to describe

if it smells bad touch the psu on the sides/bottom if those arent really warm/heating up i guess ur fine its just a new product smell i suppose P;

[CrippledROBOT]

2 minutes ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

if it smells bad touch the psu on the sides/bottom if those arent really warm/heating up i guess ur fine its just a new product smell i suppose P;

Sounds good. As soon as I get back to my PC I'm going to put it under load and see get a better idea. 

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

1 minute ago, CrippledROBOT said:

Sounds good. As soon as I get back to my PC I'm going to put it under load and see get a better idea. 

just remember psu,s have thermal protection also, if ur system starts shutting down randomly u might just hav an overheating psu but thats quite rare and it deosnt explain the smell ,   the fact that its NEW explains the smell

[CrippledROBOT]

1 minute ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

just remember psu,s have thermal protection also, if ur system starts shutting down randomly u might just hav an overheating psu but thats quite rare and it deosnt explain the smell ,   the fact that its NEW explains the smell

I DO own a laser temperature gun. What are ideal temps?

And yeah I think it's just thermal grease or something in the PSU. It's not a scary or particularly strong smell outside of sticking your face over the PSU or on top of GPU vents (see pics)

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

2 minutes ago, CrippledROBOT said:

I DO own a laser temperature gun. What are ideal temps?

And yeah I think it's just thermal grease or something in the PSU. It's not a scary or particularly strong smell outside of sticking your face over the PSU or on top of GPU vents (see pics)

optimal temps differ per psu, should be in the manual or psu info , most capacitors are rated for 80*C if u want an estimation +-

 

and high quality ones 105*C ( however u dont wanna be running ur psu at those temps )

[Crunchy Dragon]

If you get high, there's a problem. Might be you or the PSU. If not, I would guess everything's fine

[CrippledROBOT]

5 minutes ago, Valkyrie Lenneth said:

optimal temps differ per psu, should be in the manual or psu info  

Says 0-50c on website. Will check it with heat gun later. If temps are acceptable and there aren't any weird shut down, etc, just keep a nose on it and if it gets worse do an RMA?

 

Again, pretty confident it's just electronics heating up

[CrippledROBOT]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

If you get high, there's a problem. Might be you or the PSU. If not, I would guess everything's fine

What do you mean if I get high?

[maartendc]

41 minutes ago, CrippledROBOT said:

This is a weird question for the community but I'm curious to hear what everyone has to say. 

 

Fire up your computer and put it under load. Smell your PSU, what does it smell like? Does it just get hot or does it have a distinctive smell at all? I have a 3 week old Seasonic SSR650W-PX that works beautifully. However my case is extremely small and wires are crammed on top of it (see pics). The PSU DOES have a vent where it can suck in cool air. I sit about a foot or 2 away from my case and don't smell a thing but if I lean into the PSU vent hole (see case pic), I can smell like a hot metal/hot computery smell. It's hard to describe. 

 

Is this normal?

I mean, A faint "metallic computery" smell is definitely normal, especially when the system is new.

 

However, if you smell a burning-like smell, that should be a cause for concern. In that case, definitely return or replace it.

[Valkyrie Lenneth]

Just now, CrippledROBOT said:

Says 0-50c on website. Will check it with heat gun later. If temps are acceptable and there aren't any weird shut down, etc, just keep a nose on it and if it gets worse do an RMA?

yh i would just keep a nose on it and if it goes anywhere crazy then i would rma OR increase airflow to the psu, could be just blocking the airflow so it cant grab fresh air

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, CrippledROBOT said:

What do you mean if I get high?

Like if it's a similar experience to sniffing weed

[CrippledROBOT]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

Like if it's a similar experience to sniffing weed

Ohhh, will check that too

[CrippledROBOT]

2 minutes ago, maartendc said:

I mean, A faint "metallic computery" smell is definitely normal, especially when the system is new.

 

However, if you smell a burning-like smell, that should be a cause for concern. In that case, definitely return or replace it.

Yeah, it's not particularly pungent or can be smelled if you aren't smelling the PSU vent directly. Its like a "hot connector warm metal and maybe hot plastic smell"

[maartendc]

11 minutes ago, CrippledROBOT said:

Yeah, it's not particularly pungent or can be smelled if you aren't smelling the PSU vent directly. Its like a "hot connector warm metal and maybe hot plastic smell"

Mhhh, I would describe a normal smell as being a more computery variant of the "new car smell" that is well known. In fact, it should be the same smell as if you take a computer part fresh out of the box and smell it. If you are smelling anything more "hot" as in "melting" or "burning", I would be concerned.

 

If you can't smell it from a couple feet away, it is probably fine.

[CrippledROBOT]

10 minutes ago, maartendc said:

Mhhh, I would describe a normal smell as being a more computery variant of the "new car smell" that is well known. In fact, it should be the same smell as if you take a computer part fresh out of the box and smell it. If you are smelling anything more "hot" as in "melting" or "burning", I would be concerned.

 

If you can't smell it from a couple feet away, it is probably fine.

It smells like hot metal combined with fresh out the box smell... Certainly can't be smelled unless you put your face basically onto the PSU vent or on top off the GPU cent on case