Smart power switch- any options to reduce PSU idle power?

[Felsir]

I have a 'smart power switch' that does not work consistently. The strip has a calibration feature; which I dialed to the point that it triggered the way I expected it to do so- this happens to be the "MAX" setting.

 

At first, the power stip didn't trigger at all- the USB devices also kept their power so I switched the "S4/S5" setting in the BIOS. That did the trick- the USB devices were no longer active.

The strip now triggers roughly 20% of the time I shutdown the system- leaving 80% of the time the TVs and my LED power supply switched on.

 

Did anyone have a similar problem? How to fix this? I am tempted to unplug the cabinet entirely as alternative and leave the PC on autoboot when power is available ("power on after power loss" BIOS option).

[SleepyWombat]

I wired in a sw at front bottom of cab in parrallel with the start switch on the PC. so it act the same as  a normal start switch on the PC. Then I took a spare ATX power from the PC power supply - 12v and use it them to fire 2 x Fuse protected AUTO  (Car Horn Relays) rated at 30A each. I did put a diode over the coils of the relays as well. The relays control the 12vdc and 5vdc to rest of the cab. So when I turn the PC on it in turn turns on the 12VDC and 5vDC. Cheap as to do.  

[pritch33]

I use a power saving board with PC as the master. to power it on I have the option of a switch extended to the front of the cab as many do or I use google home to power on using one of these below. Its powered by an always on USB port on the PC . Hey Google turn on pinball. (Similar to this one) https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/393424910209?hash=item5b99f3b781:g:YjUAAOSw3CFg4DOh

 

[MrArcade]

I bought one of these from eBay:

 

30A High Current Contactor Switch 12V Electric Relay Board DC Power Control

 

I live in Ohio USA. The relay board arrived in about 2 weeks from China.

 

My main power cord has 3 plugs available, I have the main pc power supply and a modified standard power strip plugged in here. One of the AC lines of the normal power strip is cut and wired to the relay board.

I wired the pigtail of the relay board to a 12v IDE from the main pc power supply.  I have a momentary pushbutton wired to the power switch pins on the motherboard. The pushbutton is mounted where the power switch was under the pinball.

When I push the button, the pc turns on, applying 12v to the relay board, giving power to the modified power strip which powers the monitors and speakers, etc

 

[Felsir]

Thanks for the suggestion, tapping from the PCs 12V might be the best solution I guess, I checked with a multimeter and there is still some power seeping through when idle but likely the current is low enough to keep the relay from switching.

 

To be honest- I solved it in a different way entirely at the moment; since I added a Philips Hue LED strip as undercab lighting I also added a smart power plug. When I hit the lightswitch of the gameroom, the pin switches on as well. It's just that I need to shut down the PC before switching the lights off as well.