I built a gaming rig about a year and a half ago, and it's been working perfectly up until yesterday. I'll go ahead and list the specs:
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
CPU: Intel Pentium D 3.02GHz
RAM: 3GB DDR2
Motherboard: Gigabyte 965P-DS3 (Socket 775)
Graphics: VW26L HDTV10F @ 1360x768 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB
Hard Drive: 500GB Seagate ST3500630AS
Generic 550W PSU
Anyway, just yesterday I tried playing Tropico 3 (which really isn't a resource hog, I don't think) and it emitted a burning smell after a few minutes of playing. I instantly shut my computer off and the smell was completely gone within 15 minutes. A couple of hours later, I tried playing again and received the same results. I won't be playing any game or even running Pro Tools until I resolve this. Does this have anything to do with my recent upgrade to a 26" monitor? I've gotten this smell once before on my 22" monitor, but I blame The Sims 3 and how it absolutely hogs up every single resource on your computer. I haven't tried any FPS, although Fallout 3 worked perfectly on the highest settings for a good hour.... it just boggles my mind.
I assume I need a new PSU (I know I have a cheap MB), but I want to be 100% sure before I drop $70 on it. Anyone know what else could be the problem? I took the case off yesterday and cleaned most, if not all of the dust in and around the fans with a bottle of compressed air. It gets proper ventilation, and always has.
I'm just curious as to why it's done this three times in one and a half years, twice being yesterday... I took the case off approx 30 minutes ago so I could see where the smell is coming from specifically, but it's running fine thus far. Not even warm. The smell was very random.
Thanks in advance.
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
CPU: Intel Pentium D 3.02GHz
RAM: 3GB DDR2
Motherboard: Gigabyte 965P-DS3 (Socket 775)
Graphics: VW26L HDTV10F @ 1360x768 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB
Hard Drive: 500GB Seagate ST3500630AS
Generic 550W PSU
Anyway, just yesterday I tried playing Tropico 3 (which really isn't a resource hog, I don't think) and it emitted a burning smell after a few minutes of playing. I instantly shut my computer off and the smell was completely gone within 15 minutes. A couple of hours later, I tried playing again and received the same results. I won't be playing any game or even running Pro Tools until I resolve this. Does this have anything to do with my recent upgrade to a 26" monitor? I've gotten this smell once before on my 22" monitor, but I blame The Sims 3 and how it absolutely hogs up every single resource on your computer. I haven't tried any FPS, although Fallout 3 worked perfectly on the highest settings for a good hour.... it just boggles my mind.
I assume I need a new PSU (I know I have a cheap MB), but I want to be 100% sure before I drop $70 on it. Anyone know what else could be the problem? I took the case off yesterday and cleaned most, if not all of the dust in and around the fans with a bottle of compressed air. It gets proper ventilation, and always has.
I'm just curious as to why it's done this three times in one and a half years, twice being yesterday... I took the case off approx 30 minutes ago so I could see where the smell is coming from specifically, but it's running fine thus far. Not even warm. The smell was very random.
Thanks in advance.