Lights dim when I turn on power strip. Does this affect a running hard drive?

[Guest]

Hello everyone! I have a funny question for you.

I have my Xbox 360, Xbox One, Gamecube, Wii U and Switch connected to a power outlet via a power strip. It should be OK with the power usage from this single outlet. But when not using any of these consoles, I usually turn off the power outlet to avoid standby power usage. However, I noticed that when I turn on this power outlet on the wall, the lights in my apartment dim for a moment; only a fraction of a second though. Just like when you turn on your vacuum cleaner. I believe this is caused by something called inrush power, am I right?

But my question is: What if my computer is on when this happens? The computer is in another socket in the same room but so are the lamps. Is it ok for the running hard drive to be exposed to this tiny power outage when I turn on my console power strip? Does it even matter? I never heard anyone mention this.

Maybe I should stop turning off the wall socket because the Xbox One etc. could be doing something in idle mode.

Thanks very much for reading!

 

[Alabalcho]

If the PSU in your desktop is not from $20 variety, you should be OK. It is interesting, however, which game console causes your lights to flick.

 

[Guest]

If the PSU in your desktop is not from $20 variety, you should be OK. It is interesting, however, which game console causes your lights to flick.

Thanks for your reply!

Well, I believe it is the Xbox One. I read an article about how much power these consoles use even when turned off so that's why I decided to switch off the power strip when not using them 🙂

Thanks again, nice to know it won't fry my hard drive 🙂