Power Supply Causes Room Lights To Flicker

[LimeLord]

Typing this on my PS4 sucks. But, anyways, I really need some power supply expert feedback. I have been up and down the internet for hours. The problem: I had a 1000 watt G1 EVGA power supply that I replaced with a 1300 watt EVGA G2. I have since noticed my room lights flicker once my machine boots. (They flicker until shutdown). We are talking very rapid flicker almost like from an old crt monitor... It's kind of hard to notice at first glance. The house's wiring is pretty old and probably garbage. It's a 20 amp circuit with nothing besides a light and pc plugged in. What confuses me is that I only noticed this with my new power supply. I would assume my power draw would be roughly the same? I really only upgraded for future proofing.---- Fx8350, Ga990fxaud3, crssfed r9 290s, 16gb ddr3, 120gb ssd, 500gb hdd, 1tb hdd, nzxt fan control, 5 case fans -----Answers are greatly appreciated.

 

[GhislainG]

I would test the system in a different house with the same type of lights. If the same issue occurs, then it's the PSU; otherwise get an electrician to check your wiring and utility voltage that may be a bit low.

Edit: What type of lights? Fluorescents?

 

[LimeLord]

Yeah, I could take it somewhere else possibly. Do you have any idea how the PSU might cause that though? (If the house wiring isn't at fault). It's just weird being that my general overall draw shouldn't have drastically changed.

 

[EasyLover]

I'm suspecting your house's wiring is faulty. Better get it checked with electrician. In order to rule out the PSU credibility, you may check the PSU at some other area.

 

[LimeLord]

Incandescent lights. Sorry. PS4 browser is super laggy. EDIT: Interestingly, I just plugged my PC in the living room. I'm not sure what lights go to what circuits, but the lights in there seem unafflicted. Perhaps a wiring issue with a portion of my house.

 

[GhislainG]

Incandescent lights. Sorry. PS4 browser is super laggy. EDIT: Interestingly, I just plugged my PC in the living room. I'm not sure what lights go to what circuits, but the lights in there seem unafflicted. Perhaps a wiring issue with a portion of my house.

Then it's the wiring and I strongly suggest you get it fixed.

 

[EasyLover]

Incandescent lights. Sorry. PS4 browser is super laggy. EDIT: Interestingly, I just plugged my PC in the living room. I'm not sure what lights go to what circuits, but the lights in there seem unafflicted. Perhaps a wiring issue with a portion of my house.

Definitely wiring issue. Don't use this PSU in that room till such time you get the wiring issue fixed.

 

[LimeLord]

Do you guys think there was any damage to my PC? It boots fine and all? =/ My surge protecter wouldn't catch voltage sag. Would my PSU shutoff if it sagged too low? Now I hate my new living arrangement even more. Dang.

 

[EasyLover]

High power PSUs have more protection built in like surge protection etc. You should not worry about it but be sure not to use it in that room.

 

[EasyLover]

These protections are included in your PSU:

OVP (Over Voltage Protection)
UVP (Under Voltage Protection)
OCP (Over Current Protection)
OPP (Over Power Protection)
SCP (Short Circuit Protection)
OTP (Over Temperature Protection)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438011

 

[GhislainG]

Do you guys think there was any damage to my PC? It boots fine and all? =/ My surge protecter wouldn't catch voltage sag. Would my PSU shutoff if it sagged too low? Now I hate my new living arrangement even more. Dang.

No, but I suspect the old wiring may be damaged somewhere and I would have it checked and fixed or rewired if need be. Bad wiring is a fire hazard.

 

[LimeLord]

Oh, great. Sorry guys. I really am thankful for the feedback. I forgot Newegg had that Undervoltage protection on the list of features. I was just chasing this annoying problem all night. I'm also the paranoid kinda person. Seriously though, I was about to yank my wall socket out. I'll have to get someone to figure out where my house wiring went to hell.

 

[GhislainG]

You wrote that it's a 20A circuit, but is the wiring appropriate for 20A or did a previous owner simply replaced a 15A fuse or breaker by a 20A?

 

[LimeLord]

I was just checking out the breaker box more closely. Some of the stuff doesn't seem to add up. I think someone did some horrible rewiring in the past.. Heck, even the main box's screws aren't in the wall properly. This is rather upsetting..Really. I definitely need to see what circuit my room and the adjacent room are on as those are only where the flicker occurs. My stepfather seemed set on the idea that my PC was drawing too heavy a load, but if it's actually 20A.... My PC and a single lamp should be fine? My current machine shouldn't draw over 1kw anyways.... As my PSU is just overkill at the moment.

 

[LimeLord]

It is also worth noting that my room is the furthest away from the main box. I knew the wiring wasn't top notch when I moved in. It's just really cheap to stay here. Lol.

 

[GhislainG]

A Gold rated PSU that provides 1300W will draw up to 12 amps. If you add a 100W lamp, then the load should be close to 13 amps. You'd need a lot of power hungry components to even draw 800 watts (less than 7A).

 

[GhislainG]

It is also worth noting that my room is the furthest away from the main box. I knew the wiring wasn't top notch when I moved in. It's just really cheap to stay here. Lol.

The loss should be minimal if the correct wiring size was used. I believe the wiring just doesn't meet the specs. Are you absolutely sure nothing else is connected to that circuit? If you can identify the breaker, turn it off and check if anything else no longer has power.

 

[EasyLover]

It is still better to get it check by electrician.

 

[GhislainG]

It is still better to get it check by electrician.

I agree because flickering should never occur, but it may occur if the voltage delivered is too low. The electrician will have to check if that circuit is dedicated to a single room or not, but the OP could also do it.

 

[LimeLord]

I will turn all the breakers off one by one sometime this weekend. If anything, I want to have an idea of what to tell the electrician so maybe he can fix it quickier and thus maybe cheaper. Instead of him having to figure out what circuit goes to what. This makes me miss the days when I never worried about having a house with bad wire... Let alone how much juice anything pulled.

 

[LimeLord]

I have a suspicion that my two back rooms could share power. I'll just have to check later when nobody is home.

 

[GhislainG]

That was my point. If you can tell the electrician what's on that breaker, then he won't have to spend time figuring it out by himself.

 

[EasyLover]

It is still better to get it check by electrician.

I agree because flickering should never occur, but it may occur if the voltage delivered is too low. The electrician will have to check if that circuit is dedicated to a single room or not, but the OP could also do it.

In total agreement here.