New 980Ti tripping breaker: PSU problem?

BlueWeasel

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
463
Current setup:
  • 4790K OC'ed to 4.7ghz
  • 2x8GB DDR3
  • Zotac 980Ti Extreme (high factory overclock)
  • Corsiar CX750 750W PSU (62A on the 12v rail)

I ran a 980 GTX for months and the breaker didn't trip once. Upgraded to the 980Ti a few nights ago and the breaker has tripped several times. It's never with desktop/normal use but does trip when gaming. I've got a 20A breaker at the breaker box.

I only have a single PCI-e cable with two 6+2 connections that power the 980Ti. Could the single cable be overloaded? I've got a second PCI-e cable I could use, so that each connector on the 980Ti would each have a cable.

I don't think I'm pulling too much current, as other than the PC there is really nothing heavy on this circuit. Could be wrong, though.

Any ideas?
 
no, I don't think so, unless you have a short-circuit that can produce overheat in breaker.

I would start looking at how much devices ares used in the same breaker line, it's the breaker very hot to touch under regular usage? can you observe some viscous residues around that breaker?(overheated cables tend to produce this kind of bluish residue), how much rooms are tied to the same breaker?. its a regular 110-120V phase?
 
Yeah, I bet it's just that little bit extra pushing that breaker over the edge -- like Araxie says, what else goes down when the breaker trips?
 
As far as I can tell, it's just the wall outlets in the computer room.

This is the breaker that is tripping

I have no idea exactly how old the breakers are, as we moved into this house 3 years ago. I might just replace the breaker with a new one to see if that makes a difference.
 
if you're tripping a 20amp breaker on a 15amp circuit, stop. Call electrician. You would need to be running multiple high end PCs or heavy loads under a single breaker to probably do that. Either that, or there's a short somewhere.

I have two 290X and a 4930k and I can push 900w on my UPS without tripping a breaker, and I'm using 120v/15amp ones. But I don't really run other things on the same circuit.
 
if you're tripping a 20amp breaker on a 15amp circuit, stop. Call electrician. You would need to be running multiple high end PCs or heavy loads under a single breaker to probably do that. Either that, or there's a short somewhere.

I have two 290X and a 4930k and I can push 900w on my UPS without tripping a breaker, and I'm using 120v/15amp ones. But I don't really run other things on the same circuit.

It took 5 gaming PCs and a mini fridge for me to trip a 20a.
 
I had a similar experience and the culprit was the power cable itself.
 
I had that issue when I did voltage mod incorrectly.. Luckily nothing broke
 
Tandem circuit breaker. You're actually running on a 10 amp circuit more than likely. Not sure what your box looks like, but I'd slap in 2 new breakers if you have room. (one for each circuit)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Square-D...Single-Pole-Circuit-Breaker-QO120CP/100028706

I'd rather run a thick extension cord from the the bedroom or whatever else ISN'T on the tandem breaker, hehehe (joking, but only a little). Is it written in the box what the breaker is all powering?

I'd look into fixing it yourself if you have any experience.. Worst case scenario, move your rig to another room and try it out. Or even worse, call an electrician.

Best of luck to ya!
 
I was going to ask if that circuit breaker was an AFCI circuit breaker because I read someplace that some PSUs were known to cause false tripping of arc fault protection (which is different from GFCI); the link to that circuit breaker does not seem to mention AFCI unless there's something I don't know about (which is quite possible).

A 20A breaker requires 12 gauge wire for the entire length of the circuit. If it's 14 gauge anywhere on the circuit, it's limited to 15A to prevent wall fires. 14 gauge wire has been and still is extremely common to find throughout an entire residence in the US because it's possible for your cheapskate lazy contractor to backstab 14 gauge into a cheap 39 cent outlet. A lot of fucking idiots who aren't electricians solve problems with a 15A breaker tripping all the time by replacing it with a 20A breaker.

What I'm getting around to saying is that the 20A breaker being there and tripping makes me suspicious that something's wrong with your wiring. You should really probably call an electrician.

Edit: And Betaboy1963 knows what I don't know about, that it's a tandem circuit breaker.
 
I have this problem even on my much lower wattage system, my room is on a 15a breaker (with 60's wiring) and when I put my 1500W space heater it trips instantly. I ran a 12/3 20ft extension cord from the spare room until next spring when I can run the heating ducts and take the space heater back out.
 
I have this problem even on my much lower wattage system, my room is on a 15a breaker (with 60's wiring) and when I put my 1500W space heater it trips instantly. I ran a 12/3 20ft extension cord from the spare room until next spring when I can run the heating ducts and take the space heater back out.

Watts = volts x amps. Your 1500W space heater is most probably 120 volts. 1500W divided by 120 volts = 12.5 amps. That leaves you 2.5 amps before your PC trips the breaker. Most of your PC's amps are at 12 volts, so 12 volts times 2.5 amps = 31.25 watts.

There's no problem with your PC. It's just that your space heater needs its own circuit breaker.
 
if you're tripping a 20amp breaker on a 15amp circuit, stop. Call electrician.

Do this. Electical wiring is nothing to fool with. Doing anything with your breaker panel could void your house insurance or, if you don't know what you are doing, cause your beneficiary to collect on your life insurance. A computer alone (unless you have a 1200 or 1500 watt PS) should not cause your breaker to trip. Houses should also never have more than a 15 amp breaker on a wiring circuit unless it is for A/C, stove, furnace or dryer or you are running electric heat. If you have a 20 amp breaker, you really need an electrician to have a look at the whole electrical system.
 
Do this. Electical wiring is nothing to fool with. Doing anything with your breaker panel could void your house insurance or, if you don't know what you are doing, cause your beneficiary to collect on your life insurance. A computer alone (unless you have a 1200 or 1500 watt PS) should not cause your breaker to trip. Houses should also never have more than a 15 amp breaker on a wiring circuit unless it is for A/C, stove, furnace or dryer or you are running electric heat. If you have a 20 amp breaker, you really need an electrician to have a look at the whole electrical system.

I've rewired most of my house with wiring for 20A circuits as well as separated all of the breakers to be only powering a single room. In some rooms I have more than one dedicated circuit.

When I got my house... originally made in the 60s and then added onto at least 3 times, it was a huge mess. There were like 3 rooms on a single fuse. Almost all the wiring was the really old fabric sheathed wire and there were so many wires jammed into a single junction box that a lid would not fit.

And some of the wires were only twisted together and then covered by electrical tape.

And to top it off, nothing was grounded. The wires that actually had the ground wire, the idiot who installed them cut the ground wire off of the end.

It was a fire waiting to happen.

I didn't replace the fuse box as there was nothing wrong with it.. and the 15A fuse style circuit breakers are way cheaper than regular breakers... probably because they are a more universal design.

When you get a breaker box, you are pretty limited to what breakers you can buy because every company pretty mush has their own proprietary design so they can charge whatever they want because you have no other choice.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How old is the house?

Have you used a wiring fault checker? They have 3 lights on them. You just plug it into an outlet and it will light up and then you can tell if it is wired properly by matching up the lights with the little guide sticker on the unit itself.

My bet is that the circuit breaker is faulty unless you have a bunch of stuff running on the same circuit.

The other thing it could be is a bad connection at the outlet itself. I have had that happen before. If whoever wired the house used the crappy outlets or even the good outlets and used the push in clamps instead of the screw lugs to attach the wires that could be your whole problem.

The push in clamps work ok for a while and then tend to get a bad connection. It can lead to anything from the outlet being flakey to it melting the casing on the wire(s) with the bad connection. If it is a really bad job, I suppose it could even lead to a fire.
 
Watts = volts x amps. Your 1500W space heater is most probably 120 volts. 1500W divided by 120 volts = 12.5 amps. That leaves you 2.5 amps before your PC trips the breaker. Most of your PC's amps are at 12 volts, so 12 volts times 2.5 amps = 31.25 watts.

There's no problem with your PC. It's just that your space heater needs its own circuit breaker.

I know, but sometimes people don't realize what kind of load "other things" put on the circuit. A normal gaming PC is pretty low wattage compared to many household items. Most older homes in NA start popping 15a breakers around 1400W thanks to the shitty wiring code allowed for the housing boom in the 50's and 60's.

Also, don't forget a PSU is AC to DC conversion, you're still looking at 115V from the wall converted to 12V DC.
 
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Do this. Electical wiring is nothing to fool with. Doing anything with your breaker panel could void your house insurance or, if you don't know what you are doing, cause your beneficiary to collect on your life insurance. A computer alone (unless you have a 1200 or 1500 watt PS) should not cause your breaker to trip. Houses should also never have more than a 15 amp breaker on a wiring circuit unless it is for A/C, stove, furnace or dryer or you are running electric heat. If you have a 20 amp breaker, you really need an electrician to have a look at the whole electrical system.

If he has 12 gauge wire all the way to the breaker i dont see any issue....even if hes using a standard outlet. This might be something your local code requires? This is what im basing this on
The National Electrical Code, in article 210.21 (B) 1, 2, and 3, describes the requirements of single and multiple receptacles on a circuit.

The use of multiple 15 amp receptacles on a 20 amp circuit is permitted. A duplex receptacle is considered as multiple receptacles and is therefore permissible to use as the single, or one of several, multiple type receptacles on the circuit.
Part of the UL listing for the 15 amp receptacles is that they are capable of feeding through the 20 amp circuit, the primary difference between 15 and 20 amp receptacles being the faceplate configuration.
Receptacles rated higher than the circuit rating may not be used, so 20 amp receptacles are not permitted on a 15 amp circuit.

One thing i would advise is checking all the wire connections to make sure they are tight. Loose hooks ups in the outlet, bad wire nut connections or terminations and what not can cause major issues with tripping breakers...could even be just a faulty outlet...It sounds like he is not using an arcfault breaker but if he is, the first generation of those were terrible at tripping for no reasons. I dont see any reason to mention its a tandom breaker (as there fairly common) although breakers can go bad

Oh and one last thing...try home depot or lowes for new breakers...god that place you went to is STUPID expensive ...just look here http://www.homedepot.com/p/Square-D...le-Tandem-Circuit-Breaker-QOT2020CP/100021761
Square D Model # QOT2020CP Internet # 100021761 Store SKU # 741884 QO 2-20 Amp Single-Pole Tandem Circuit Breaker
Square D QO 2-20 Amp Single-Pole Tandem Circuit Breaker
$17.58 /each

Me personally i might just go pick up a new breaker, outlet...the outlet is cheap anyway..also pick up an outlet meter while your there..should only be about 20-30 bucks (or less)
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kill-A-Watt-Electricity-Monitor-P4400/202196386
Model # P4400 Internet # 202196386 Kill-A-Watt Electricity Monitor
$17.57 /piece
 
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If he has 12 gauge wire all the way to the breaker i dont see any issue....even if hes using a standard outlet. This might be something your local code requires? This is what im basing this on

The code in this jurisdiction only allows 20 amp breakers in kitchens for receptacles. Otherwise 15 amp. Higher amp breakers are used for stoves, dryers, hot water tanks and such.


One thing i would advise is checking all the wire connections to make sure they are tight. Loose hooks ups in the outlet, bad wire nut connections or terminations and what not can cause major issues with tripping breakers...could even be just a faulty outlet

Very true. I have a powerline network running. It has been fine, but intermittent at times, much to the distress of the primary customer, my wife in her medical practice. After eliminating every other possibility I pulled the cover off the receptacle (after shutting off the power, of course) and tightened all the screws at the receptacle. From the dirt and dust inside, it was evident that nothing had been touched since the house was built in 1954. Then I discovered that the wire nut covering the splice to the next outlet was loose. I tightened it down, buttoned everything up and the problem went away. And the primary customer is very happy. :) Sometimes all it needs is a turn of the screw...
 
Overloading wires can't trip breakers because the breaker has no idea how much current a wire can handle; it only "knows" how much current it can handle. That's why it's required for them to be sized smaller than the amp capacity of the wiring they'll be protecting.

If you have a 20 amp breaker on a circuit with any wiring that can only handle 15 amps, and you plug in some combination of devices that pull 18 amps, the wire will overheat and possibly set fire to something around it before the breaker ever sees enough current to trip.

If you have a 750w PC tripping a 2400w breaker, there's more going on than just a 1000w PC pulling power: could be a short, an aged breaker than can no longer handle 20amps, or the circuit is powering more than it should be.

Watts = volts x amps. Your 1500W space heater is most probably 120 volts. 1500W divided by 120 volts = 12.5 amps. That leaves you 2.5 amps before your PC trips the breaker. Most of your PC's amps are at 12 volts, so 12 volts times 2.5 amps = 31.25 watts.

There's no problem with your PC. It's just that your space heater needs its own circuit breaker.


A PSU trades voltage for amperage. So that 12v circuit inside the PC can pull 25a from it's PSU using 2.5a from the 120v source, not accounting for conversion losses.
 
The only time I tripped a breaker on my bedroom's 15A circuit was when I had both an 8000 BTU portable air con (800-900W at the wall IIRC) and my sig rig running full tilt at the same time. What actually caused the trip was me turning on bathroom lights, as I have 6x50W bulbs, which decidedly sent the load over 1800W. So now I run my AC on the kitchen's 20A circuit.
 
It took 5 gaming PCs and a mini fridge for me to trip a 20a.

It took me just two computers to do that. Granted, they are beasts (one of them in sig, and it used to have two 780 Ti classifieds).

It could very well be that the circuit breaker is wearing out. I've had two 20 amps do that at my work building recently. They get old, wear out, and can't handle their rated load without tripping anymore.

Replacing it with a brand new one would be what I'd do as a first step. If that fails then there is a deeper problem, possibly with the electrical wiring, possibly with the computer (which an electrician with the right tools could tell you), possibly in the number of devices/total draw all pulling from the same power circuit.
 
It took me just two computers to do that. Granted, they are beasts (one of them in sig, and it used to have two 780 Ti classifieds).

It could very well be that the circuit breaker is wearing out. I've had two 20 amps do that at my work building recently. They get old, wear out, and can't handle their rated load without tripping anymore.

Replacing it with a brand new one would be what I'd do as a first step. If that fails then there is a deeper problem, possibly with the electrical wiring, possibly with the computer (which an electrician with the right tools could tell you), possibly in the number of devices/total draw all pulling from the same power circuit.

Replacing it with a brand new one would be the LAST step. Making sure there are no problems with the wiring or anything connected to it should be the FIRST step that's done.
 
I feed my PC with a 220v line I ran from the panel.

At one time I was running 4x 6970s in my 3930K and it would Pop a 15amp 120v with ease. Now I just have GTX 980ti and same 3930k and it doesnt come close to pulling that much current and its on a 220v line as well. I think at full load on a 220 it pulls around 4 amps or so. If you running more than 1200watts of total power to game you should upgrade to 10/3 power wire and place a 20 amp breaker in your panel or run 10/3 @ 220volts. Remember its about stopping your house from burning down.
 
Tandem breakers are just for space saving - the two breakers are independent of each other, and allow you to run two circuits in the space of one bracket on the service panel.

If both of the breakers are tripping at the same time, it's probably a problem with the breaker or wiring. I would not just replace the breaker without checking out the wiring though, that's a huge safety issue -- the cost of an electrician to check it out is much less than the cost of replacing everything in your house should it burn down, or your life.

I also agree with calling out an electrician. 20A lines aren't common in a house - it's likely that unless you are the first and only owner of the house, that the 15A breaker that was in there started tripping randomly and a previous owner just replaced it with a 20A to keep it from tripping - meaning there may be a problem in the wiring, and that's an extreme fire hazard.
 
Tandem breakers are just for space saving - the two breakers are independent of each other, and allow you to run two circuits in the space of one bracket on the service panel.

If both of the breakers are tripping at the same time, it's probably a problem with the breaker or wiring. I would not just replace the breaker without checking out the wiring though, that's a huge safety issue -- the cost of an electrician to check it out is much less than the cost of replacing everything in your house should it burn down, or your life.

I also agree with calling out an electrician. 20A lines aren't common in a house - it's likely that unless you are the first and only owner of the house, that the 15A breaker that was in there started tripping randomly and a previous owner just replaced it with a 20A to keep it from tripping - meaning there may be a problem in the wiring, and that's an extreme fire hazard.

Like he said. Your life may depend on it.
 
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