New PC or power supply might be triggering the circuit breaker.
New PC or power supply might be triggering the circuit breaker.
I just finished assembling a new PC about two to three weeks ago, around the same time I moved into a new apartment building. On the first day I got everything set up and running, I decided to try out a few games for testing. Within 15 minutes of playing OW2—an uncomplicated game—I noticed the circuit tripped in my room. After resetting the breaker and restarting the PC, all tests passed without any problems.
About 13 days later, during a short gaming session at work, the circuit again tripped. I thought it might be related to the fact that both my girlfriend and I share the same room setup, and our systems are quite similar. Both have an approximate maximum wattage of 650 watts (my is slightly lower). We’ve spent many nights gaming together without issues, living in older buildings with a standard 15A AFCI breaker, and we’ve never faced any problems. The only thing that powered on when the breaker tripped was my new PC.
Could this be a power supply issue, assuming it’s not due to damaged wiring or a faulty breaker? It’s odd that the problem appeared only with my new PC.
Additional details:
The room uses a standard AFCI 15A breaker, and both PCs are on high-quality surge protectors. I recently bought an extension cord and tried plugging it into another outlet on the same circuit to see if I could reproduce the issue. It’s tough to diagnose something that happens so rarely. Today, building maintenance came by to inspect the breaker. They said they couldn’t find any wiring or breaker problems and would replace it if needed. They seemed frustrated since they didn’t run any outlet tests with tools.
PC Components:
- Intel Core i9-13900k
- ASUS TUF Gaming Z790-PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
- Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR5
- Samsung 980 PRO 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVME SSD
- PNY GeForce RTX 4070
- CORSAIR RM850x 80 PLUS GOLD PSU
What’s connected to the circuit:
1. Four monitors
2. Two desktops
3. Standard peripherals (two mice/keyboards)
4. Router
5. Overhead light
Nuisance trips might occur.
For more details, see the article: https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/f...t-breaker/
You can attempt basic troubleshooting as suggested in the linked guide.
If this approach doesn’t fix the issues, a professional electrician should be contacted.
Fair inquiry.
Surge protection is expressed in Joules and is cumulative.
Eventually, the protective device reaches its limit and can no longer offer adequate defense.
Note: This is not an endorsement or product suggestion.
https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/blog/j...rotection/
Another possible concern could be an electrical ground loop.
For more details, see:
https://community.element14.com/tec.../b...-explained
Generally, the issue seems to stem from a combination of factors that happen randomly due to multiple devices connected to the same circuit.
A brief peak may trigger a breaker trip, which resets the system and repeats until the next disturbance.
Consider relocating certain devices to other circuits to see if this reduces trips.
If the problem persists, the circuit breaker might be the root cause.
Hey, thanks once more for your reply. Apologies for the delayed answer—I was doing additional tests and have some updates.
I switched to a different outlet on the same circuit, which worked perfectly for about a week (with minor variations). However, it suddenly tripped the breaker again. I reset the breaker right away and connected the desktop to a new circuit, and within ten minutes after booting up while browsing the web, it tripped the new circuit as well.
I believe the PC is likely the cause of this issue. It’s hard for me to understand why on certain days I can run stress tests or play games for hours without any problems.
By the way, I noticed something interesting—whenever it trips, it seems like it’s happening during rainy weather. That’s pretty odd.
Not unusual – possible hint.
Rain indicates high humidity (100%).
Do you own or can you borrow a de-humidifier?
Place the device in the computer room and let it operate for a few days.
Check how much moisture is gathered, and see if the circuit breakers still trip when the PCs are removed to a drier space.
If that doesn’t work, my idea is that your electrical setup might be incorrect and the rain is interfering.
Water conducts electricity, so excess moisture could disrupt several circuits.
Initially, maybe just one or two circuits; with more rain, others may short out or trip.
Is the PC arrangement close to an air conditioner or fan that could lower temperatures inside the case?
My understanding is still unclear about exactly what’s happening, but there are likely other factors worth exploring.
In the meantime, consider having an electrician inspect your home and circuits.