Question AFCI tripping ... replaced PSU, now out of ideas

[mstevens901]

I moved into a new house with AFCI breakers about a year ago. Within the last month, my PC started to trip the breaker while gaming. Never when browsing the internet - only when under significant load.

I first tried testing my PC on a different circuit also with AFCI breakers. That tripped too. Same circumstances - only while gaming.

So I thought maybe it was my PSU. Replaced it and all the cables with a new one (EVGA SuperNova 650 G3). Same issue - PC is tripping the circuit while gaming.

At this point I don't know what to do. Seems to clearly be a component in my PC but what besides the PSU could be the problem?

 

[Viking2121]

I had the same issues a few years ago when I moved into a house in Arizona, the only couple of things you can do, Replace the breaker on that circuit with a non AFCI breaker, pretty easy to do, but I would not do it yourself if you have no experience at all, it could kill you touching the wrong thing in the breaker panel. An electrician can do this for you.

Can run an extension cord to the PC from a non AFCI circuit, Kitchens typically use standard breakers but use the GFCI outlets, I mean I really don't think you have much of a choice with how AFCI work.

AFCI can trip when it detects a sudden burst of power such as a computer, booting up a demanding game, its usually not a gradual power spike, Even seen reports of laptops causing AFCI circuits to trip once that laptop is fully charged and stops charging, and then starts to charge again, causing a sort of ark which trips, could be a leaky ground from the PC PSU, Ground and Neutral can use the same bus bar in the breaker panel so its not too uncommon to see a ground leak with AC which then can cause the AFCI to trip.

Probably one of the worst things they could of start putting in houses, Here where I live now, I rent and I pulled all the AFCI breakers and sat them on the inside of the breaker panel and bought standard breakers, if I ever move I'll reinstall them, My server is known to trip them things in the last 2 houses I lived in.

 

[drivinfast247]

I had the same issues a few years ago when I moved into a house in Arizona, the only couple of things you can do, Replace the breaker on that circuit with a non AFCI breaker, pretty easy to do, but I would not do it yourself if you have no experience at all, it could kill you touching the wrong thing in the breaker panel. An electrician can do this for you.

Can run an extension cord to the PC from a non AFCI circuit, Kitchens typically use standard breakers but use the GFCI outlets, I mean I really don't think you have much of a choice with how AFCI work.

AFCI can trip when it detects a sudden burst of power such as a computer, booting up a demanding game, its usually not a gradual power spike,

Give this a read.
https://www.electricaltechnology.org/2020/06/difference-between-gfci-afci.html

 

[Viking2121]

Give this a read.
https://www.electricaltechnology.org/2020/06/difference-between-gfci-afci.html

The site gets blurry, I'm gussing a pop up asking me to accept cookies or because im running an adblocker, not worth me shutting my ad blocker off...

Either way, its just a computer, It not going to harm anyone, Can either sit there and deal witht he problem and and whine about it or do something to get rid of this useless feature. simple.