OMG! I have the exact same monitor! (No burning yet though)
Mine is roughly 3 years old now,..paid 300 bucks for it back then.
How long does it have to live?
And recently I have noticed some price drops in the LCD/HDTV/Monitor video panels at Walmart. A nice 1080P in the 32 inch range can be had for around the $300 I paid for this unit.
Maybe time to upgrade?

nookie420

Guys I have been going nuts since I got home trying to locate the burning smell.  I checked every outlet in every room, every cable plugged in, took the side panels off my PC, 30 minutes later I give up, sit down and smell my monitor, that has been turned on and working perfectly fine AFAIK, and bam, its coming from the top vents of my Samsung 26" LCD, its an old syncmaster T260HD.  But SOB I just spent all my play money on a 1920 Buescher True Tone alto sax, and can't afford to buy a new monitor right now!! RAAAAAAGE.  I'm going to have to, cringe, use a 21" 1680x1050.........................  ick..

We could hold a ceremony. Nothing fancy. Just a few friends. You can speak a few words about your fallen friend.
 
I unfortunately feel your pain, but my TV(monitor) has been on its way out for awhile now. I'm just waiting for the day when the random graphical glitches spread and become permanent. Right now, it just glitches at random intervals like a nervous twitch.

Sorry to hear this... I too have this monitor from about 2008-09 and the 24" version as well.
 
I have had this happen once or twice. One time it was some electronic part that had taken it's last power surge and the protector was fried. It eventually went "Pop" Poof" "Click "Yellow/tan smoke" dead...
 
The second one I took apart.. Some insect (Spider or moth not sure which) made a nest on one of the cooling fins... The heat was basically baking the nest...
 
Not to mention... All those vents on a monitor... They are not exactly dust blockers. It is shocking how much dust, hair (Animal(s) and human(s)) get inside these suckers...

I'd imagine that it's outside of the warranty period. This is purely based on your comfort level, but perhaps you could open it up and dust it out. It'd be worth a try to give it that last cleaning before you send it off to the great e-cycling plant in the sky.

You might consider taking the monitor apart and checking the power board... probably is just a bad cap somewhere about to blow out. If you can verify it's just the power board then it's a simple matter to buy another and swap it out, then the monitor is good as new again.
 
eBay is apparently full of them... random one I found for $60. There's also some guy selling parts kits to repair the board yourself for $16.  
 
I have a Dell 2407-WFP circa 2006.... was around $550 at the time. Power board finally blew out on it spectacularly, the main capacitor started to leak, then once it failed all the voltage ICs blew out in sequence. Got the power board fixed since it was so old I couldn't find power boards anymore, but unless you're an electrician its best to just replace the power board whole. Just connect a couple cables and screws and the monitor should be good to go another 3+ years. But if you are going to do this, I'd suggest doing it before the power board blows and possibly damages the main monitor board, just to be on the safe side.