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Strange smell... card overheating?
Hello folks,
Something strange is happening to my Dell Dimension 8400 equipped with an ATI Radeon X800. Everytime I play a "heavy game" like Doom3 I can smell a strange stink coming from behind my PC. Smells like some kind of burning, charring or sort of. I opened the Dell, dusted off and vacuum cleaned everything inside but it wasn't really so bad, this PC's only 10 months old. Something's telling me it's related to the ATI overheating but how can I help it? Is it normal? Is it only dust burning? I don't remember I had this stink few months ago when I started playing Doom3 so it's got to be a new thing. I've never opened this PC before so no way something could've moved inside, worsened the cooling etc.
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Posted September 9th, 2005 16:00
I can't stick my nose deep enough :smileyhappy: but it feels like the stink of something burning is indeed located around the ATI. For sure one can smell the stink coming from the big fan at the back of the PC. One more thing I can see: the fan on the ATI card is not working! Should it always work or only when a certain temperature is obtained? Is there any diagnostic software for this Radeon to run and see if things are OK?454
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Posted September 9th, 2005 16:00
Also, does this smell give you funny feelings all over???451
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Posted September 9th, 2005 16:00
That thing should always be on. Don't use the computer untill you obtain a replacement fan!!!
If you can, get a replacement for the orinigal under warranty. If not, purchase an ATI Silencer from somewhere like newegg.com and install that, then you should be good to go, assuming you haven't yet suffered any permanent heat damage.
451
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Posted September 9th, 2005 17:00
TomekM,
The video card needs to be replaced. Please provide me with the following information in a private message, not on the board -
Complete name of person to contact:
Shipping address:
Daytime phone of contact:
Service tag:
Reason: video card
DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell
451
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Posted September 9th, 2005 17:00
For Christ's sake...! I paid a lot for this PC and I'm a computer user not a diagnoser! Doesn't this card have any alarm in case the fan is off? It seems to be a good ATI card so this feature should be a necessity! Or maybe I should open the PC every day and see if the fan is turning?Anyway, thanks for advice! Already sent an email to Dell Technical Support for a free replacement because this computer is yet on warranty.451
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Posted September 9th, 2005 18:00
Done!
Thank for help.
Regards
451
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Posted September 9th, 2005 18:00
Don't feel bad. You caught the problem and asked questions. That was a good thing. One thing about those overpriced warranties, they WILL fix it for free. Not your fault. Even if your motherboard was toasted because of the video card, Dell should fix it too.Nice of ChrisM to jump in and help too. He is allot more helpful/knowledgeable then "Mike" from India!Message Edited by Workindood on 09-09-2005 03:50 PM
451
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Posted September 9th, 2005 20:00
At least you detected there was a problem...your house possibly could have burned down.220
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Posted September 9th, 2005 21:00
Can you read the temperature from your video card?
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
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454
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Posted September 9th, 2005 15:00
With the case open and system on, is the smell centered on the video card?
DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell