To turn off or not..

pbdr

pbdr

New Member
Now I generally power my computer off every night before bad, but leaveit running the rest of the time (the odd thunderstorm notwithstanding, even with the Belkin).

What is the opinion of turning off vs. running constantly?

Will either effect the computer longevity; i.e. HDD or other component wear and tear?

Just wondering
 
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well, if you only use it for say 20 minutes each day, then yes its better to turn it off after each use, but if your like me where you work on it and have things running nearly 20 hours a day, its not worth shutting it down and rebooting for that little amoutn of time.

Also, you have to remeber that as you turn your PC on, there is a tiny TINY power surge before the PSU kicks in and starts doing its job. If you sit there poweing down and up hundreds of times a day your PC wont last as loong as someone who leaves it running 24/7

I personally use the standby option, easy because i have a key on my keyboard for it. Hit the standby button, it saves the desktop how it is, all open programs remain open, it doesnt close anything, and then it puts it into standby, shuts the monitor off, all fans off, HDD's spin down, the power LED should flash.

Thats what i do anyway

dragon
 
systems are designed to stay on now, think about work stations in many offices, lots of them run permanantly.

I personally turn mine off but only becuase theres no need for it to be on so its a waste of electricity.
 
I leave my desktop on during the day, off at night. If I plan to leave the house, I shut it down. That's less wear and tear on the harddrive, fans, and just everything else inside the computer. Less heat, less electricity... Besides, what's it take for most computer to boot now-of-days? Mine is ready in about 30 seconds :P
 
I turn my pc off at night because of the heat it generates in my little room its very hot. I dont like that and notice a major difference so i just turn it off at night. My laptop is always on thought becuase its on a cooling pad and doesnt genereate a lot of heat.
 
I usully keep my pc-ing running most of the time, but it goes into sleep mode after its not used for a while. If I leave town for a while, then I usually shut it down and unplug it.
 
The pros and cons have been covered by earlier posts.

I have mine running more or less year-round. Even when I'm away the pc is still doing stuff. I turn off the monitor if I'm going to be away for a few hours or more. Its power saver switches in after 15 minutes anyway.

Keeping a pc running must have a significant cost over the year. At 200-300w that's about 2200kWh.

Starman*
 
Should be fine to leave it on all the time. Just have a surge protector on it incase anything happens with the power.
 
The dell in my basement stays on 24/7 and usually a few months at a time. I turn on comp on when i get home, and shut it off when i go to bed, mostly cause its too loud/shiney.
 
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My Opinion
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I hate leaving computers on. HATE! :mad:

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Why?
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Two easy reasons.

Dust and electricity. Easy?

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Dust
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Dust, is horrible. Everyone knows it, its in your air, its always flying, and when your computer is on, dust is being pushed in by your massive fans in your computer.

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Electricity
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The world is currently saying that electricity is being sucked up. Why waste it for no reason?

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I hope...
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I hope you take this into consideration, and i am sure if you leave your computer off when you are not using it, mainly at night, you will have a better result than leaving it on.

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Their arguements
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People usually say that leaving it on allows your computer to not be pushed around, up and down, on and off... They say this helps it`s "lifetime" and gives it more of a "lifetime" of existence.

-What i have to say...
--No way, whoever says this is a newb. And i mean NEWB. Ok, simple logic.

---Lightbulbs and computers can be used as the same right? Both use electricity, both have (to some extent) processing ><. Now tell me, does a lightbulb get measured in Usage Time, or Overall Time. I can answer this, Usage Time. Just like your computer...

----All in all, your computer will live longer, you will use less electricity, you will have it stay cooler (EVERYONE WANTS THEIR COMPUTER TO STAY COOLER!!! I'D DIE FOR IT RIGHT NOW >.>) and overall, your computer will love you more :D.
 
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