Power strip acting weird - need advice!

[sprtm]

I have one of these power strips http://www.konigelectronic.com/en_us/computer/power/1001525, with the PC acting as master and monitor, speakers and marquee light connected as slaves. I had no issues whatsoever for over a year, until yesterday when I replaced the PC for a newer one.

Now when I leave the PC powered on for a while, the power strip starts to buzz, the marquee light starts to flicker (like it doesn't get enough power) and I hear static noice from the speakers. This comes and goes and stops as soon as I turn off the PC.

If I use a slave output for the PC, it acts normal (same thing if I connect the PC to a regular wall output).

I've tried the power strip in different wall outputs, same issue.

I've tried another PC as master, no issues at all.

If I use the power strip in manual mode (not acting as master/slave), it will eventually start to buzz, but it won't affect the other peripherals connected (as they're not dependent on the PC's power).

From my tests I THINK this happens mostly when the CPU is more or less idle. At the moment I've started a more processor heavy game and so far everything is acting smooth...

Yesterday I extended the wires to the power button of the PC and connected them to a microswitch button on the cabinet, but that shouldn't be any issue, should it? I never tried the PC in this power strip before I did the wireing, so I can't be sure... But I've made sure everything is still connected properly on the motherboard, no loose connectors.

I'm a real novice when it comes to electronics, but doesn't it sound like something is wrong with the PC's power handling, making the power strip act weird? Any advice what to do?

Thanks.









 http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=116591.0

[BobA]

Sounds like your PC is not drawing enough power from the strip to make a good switch over.  Some PCs throttle down the CPU etc when not in use.  You should be able to set it in the power options of your PC in control panel so it does not throttle down.   If that does not work you might want to add some more load to your PC such as an additional 12V cooling fan.

[sprtm]

Yeah, I actually had that idea too, to add some kind of accessory to increase the power load. I'll see what to do. Today it has behaved normal, but it hasn't been idle for long, so I really don't know. I'll try it around some more. Thanks for the advice!

[bkenobi]

I had the opposite problem a while back when I tried a smart strip.  My controlling device wouldn't drop energy consumption enough when off to actually turn off the other devices.  It probably wasn't an EnergyStar device and the strip probably assumed it was.  But, it did the same sort of things.