Question New PC / PSU potentially causing breaker to trip

[JW1993]

I just recently put together a new PC about 2-3 weeks ago which is around the same time I moved into a new apartment complex. The first day I set everything up and got it up and running I decided to download a couple of games for a test run - 15 minutes into playing OW2 (which isn't a graphically heavy game in the slightest) the circuit trips in the room my set up is. I reset the breaker and powered my PC back up to run some more test, all of which came back with no abnormalities.

Roughly 13 days go by with no issue; Long gaming sessions, monitoring temperatures, voltage, etc...once again no abnormalities.
Exactly two weeks later (to the day) I hopped on a game for a cheeky 1-2 hour session during downtime at work and the circuit tripped again.

I figured I should also add that both my girlfriend and I have our setups in the same room, both systems are pretty similar and have an estimated MAXED wattage of roughly 650w (hers is less i'm not entirely sure what it exactly is as of right now). We've had numerous nights gaming together with no issue and have lived together for years in older apartment buildings with your same typical 15a AFCI breaker and have never run into a issue... with that being said the two times the breaker tripped the only device powered on was my new PC.

Could this potentially be a PSU problem, assuming it's not due to faulty wiring or anything with the breaker? I find it weird that this only became a new issue when my new PC came into the picture.

Additional information:
The room is your standard AFCI 15a breaker, both PCs are sitting on high quality surge protectors. I recently purchased an extension cord and plugged it into another outlet on the same circuit to see if I can replicate the issue. It's hard to troubleshoot a issue that happens so infrequently. I had my building maintenance come today to look at the breaker, they essentially said they couldn't see any issue with the wiring / breaker and would replace it if it happens again (kind of mad they didn't run any outlet tests with tools or anything).

PC Parts:
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 Solid State Drive
PNY Geforce RTX 4070
CORSAIR Rmx Series RM850x 80 PLUS GOLD PSU

What's plugged into that circuit:
1. Four Monitors
2. Two desktops
3. Typical peripherals (two mice / keyboards)
4. Router
5. Overhead light

 

[Ralston18]

Nuisance trips perhaps.

FYI:

https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/fix-a-sensitive-arc-fault-circuit-breaker/

You can do some troubleshooting on your own per the linked article.

If the described troubleshooting etc. does not identify or resolve the problems then a qualified electrician should be called.

 

[JW1993]

Nuisance trips perhaps.

FYI:

https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/fix-a-sensitive-arc-fault-circuit-breaker/

You can do some troubleshooting on your own per the linked article.

If the described troubleshooting etc. does not identify or resolve the problems then a qualified electrician should be called.

Thank you for the reply!

Weirdly enough I was actually just reading about nuisance trips right before you responded - if I were to not use a surge protector seeing that it could potentially be causing a leak, hypothetically couldn't that damage my PC if it trips again and it's not protected?

 

[Ralston18]

Fair question.

Surge protection is measured in Joules. And is cummulative.

At some point the protecting device hits its' Joules limit and no longer provides effective protection.

FYI: (Not an endorsement or product recommendation.)

https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/blog/joules-the-key-to-surge-protection/

And, after reading back, another issue could be an electrical ground loop.

FYI (and you can easily find other similar links):

https://community.element14.com/tec.../blog/posts/secrets-of-ground-loops-explained

For the most part, my thought is that the problem is some "perfect storm" of events that simply occurs from time to time based on all the devices plugged into the circuit.

Some "peak" is hit, breaker trips, gets reset, and all continues again until the next "storm".

Try moving some devices to different circuits to determine if doing so reduces the trips on the circuit in question.

If not, then the circuit breaker may be the culprit.

 

[JW1993]

Fair question.

Surge protection is measured in Joules. And is cummulative.

At some point the protecting device hits its' Joules limit and no longer provides effective protection.

FYI: (Not an endorsement or product recommendation.)

https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/blog/joules-the-key-to-surge-protection/

And, after reading back, another issue could be an electrical ground loop.

FYI (and you can easily find other similar links):

https://community.element14.com/tec.../blog/posts/secrets-of-ground-loops-explained

For the most part, my thought is that the problem is some "perfect storm" of events that simply occurs from time to time based on all the devices plugged into the circuit.

Some "peak" is hit, breaker trips, gets reset, and all continues again until the next "storm".

Try moving some devices to different circuits to determine if doing so reduces the trips on the circuit in question.

If not, then the circuit breaker may be the culprit.

Hey, thanks again for the reply. Sorry for the late response I was running further tests and have some updates..

I tried a different outlet on the same circuit which ran everything smoothly for a week (give or take) when all of the sudden it tripped the breaker again. I immediately reset the breaker and plugged the desktop into a new circuit all together and not even 10 minutes after booting it up while I was browsing the web it tripped the new circuit.

I think it's safe to say the PC is the culprit in this situation. I just can't figure out why certain days I can run stress tests, game for hours, etc. and have no issue.

FYI just an observation I picked up on - Each time it has tripped its been raining outside. Weird.

 

[Ralston18]

Not weird - possible clue.

Rain = humidity (100%).

Do you have or have access to (i.e., borrow) a de-humidifier?

Put the dehumidifier in the computer room and let the dehumidfier run for couple days. Determine how much moisture is collected and, if the circuit breaker(s) continue to trip with the PC(s) in a drier environment.

Failing that my thought is that something is truly astray with your electrical service and rain.

Water is a conductor and depending how much water is "around" mulitple circuits could be affected.

Maybe just one or two circuits at first then with more rain other circuits then start shorting out/tripping.

Is the PC setup any where near an air condition or fan that could cool the PC to the point where the humidity condenses inside the case?

No real idea now (full disclosure) regarding what may be actually happening. However, my thought is that there are other options and possibilities to be addressed.

There may be other ideas and suggestions.

In the meantime starting thinking about having an electrician inspect and evaulate your residence and ciruits.