Should I leave my Computer on all the time or is it OK to switch it off/

rebekka

rebekka

Geek
I have just been told it is better to leave my pc on all the time., I use it off and on throughout the day, sometimes hour or so using it then switch it off for perhaps two hours etc.
I gather it wears out more easily switching it off/on.

What is the best thing to do:confused:
 
As far as i know, it doesnt make a difference.

its cheaper not to have it running 24/7, but my computers allways doing something (torrents, temp web hosting) so its normally on.

I wouldnt worry too much about ware and tear, i dont know what will 'wear and tear' as such but i doubt it will have any effect before you replace the machine!

If your going to be leaving your machine on 24/7 (or for any amount of time really) then you really should put its power to use with a distributed effort such as folding@home (Folding@Home Distributed Computing) which uses the spare power of computers around the world to create a supercomputer which studies protein folding and misfolding (there is a better description on there site!)
 
If your using it on and off constantly then i would suggest leaving it on, boot up uses a lot of power and also takes time. This would allow quick access to your computer if you need, and like Impotence said you could use it for folding@home. Try it out see if it benefits you.
 
Other than the obvious things that have been mentioned like power consumption and component longevity there's really no issue with leaving it on for long stretched as far as I know either.
 
But i think its good to restart your computer atleast once in a day coz it starts responding bit slowly.... ..
 
I agree with Impotence: you will replace the thing or throw it out completely b4 anything will ever "wear/tear". So I would use the method that saves electricity cuz its a pointless waste of energy otherwise. Interestingly, I have been by someone that her dad told her (and her dad's a computer engineer or something like that) that apparently it actually uses up more electricity to turn on/off the comp than to just leave it 24/7. But I really don't see how that's possible (wasn't told of an explanation) and don't really believe it.
 
I reacon we whould label that as BS :P

If anyone can explain to me why loading an OS (which is just software) can use more power than running any other bit of software then i owe you a beer.

also, if it was true my dad would have commented that we where using less electric, i am currently being blamed for the rise :P (computer in my specs on 24/7).

The computer will allways consume X amount of power per min (i dont know how much of an effect features like AMD cool n quite make, coz i'm allways running @ 100% 24/7 :D )
 
My old pc (new one coming today!) was so messed up that I had to use a room fan next to it to keep it from restarting and leaving that and the pc on all the time made the electricity bills a bit steep. Like everyone's said, it's more a matter of costs than the computer suffering damage.
 
Hi matttibb

Thanks for reply. I have just had a new fan fitted to my pc because it was running hot but not as hot as yours! :)

Have fun with your new computer.

:crash:
 
I'd only turn the system off for extended periods of time. If you're coming back to it every few hours, leave it on. When you go to sleep, then, yeah, I'd turn it off. You could also configure the system (assuming you're using Windows 2000 or XP here) for hibernation, which would be a compromise between turning it off and leaving it on.

It's one of those PC myths that you'll do damage by turning it off and on frequently. Yeah, it's a little more wear and tear on the power switch, but even if those did fail, replacements would be a few bucks to nothing (it's a momentary pushbutton switch, so you could easily swipe one out of a dead PC or pick one up at places like RadioShack).
 
I just turn mine on in the morning and then turn it off at night.. Never had a problem doing this way. Besides if you live where there can be some serious storms, then make sure you turn it OFF, Or take the chance of losing it.
One lightning strike close by and Good bye computer.
 
That's why you should have a surge protector. APC is pretty good, but I think we have some Belkin units around the house too. Neither one has fallen over yet.
 
A computer left continuously running will emit 2161 pounds of CO2 in a year and cost $45 a year to power at $0.0372 per kWh. (a major cause of global warming).

Turning a computer off at night so it runs only 8 hours a day computes to a reduction of 810 kWh per year, or a 67% yearly savings.

By turning off computer units at night, Ohio University can save 6,075,000 kWh per year. This amounts to $225,000 per year saved (for 7,500 units at $0.0372 per kWh).

Also look for some common computing myths on [link=http://www.facilities.ohiou.edu/greenpc/]this[/link] website.
 
Dude, that's an awesome website! I have long wanted to find a source to confirm or deny that thing about "turning the comp on and off uses more energy than leaving it on." But I could never find anything about it cuz no one seems to care. :( This finally has a real answer!

Myth: Turning your computer off uses more energy than leaving it on.
Truth: The surge of power used by a CPU to boot up is far less than the energy used by the unit when left on for over 3 minutes.
Click to expand...
 
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