Is it better to leave your computer on all night or to turn it off?

[cubsfan6506]

Title says it all

 

[Macha]

For the computer, it is better to leave it on.
For your electricity bill it is better to turn it off.

You'll have to choose which is more important to you.

 

[cubsfan6506]

Computer definitly. thanks.

 

[Mise]

Why would your computer benefit from it being on 24/7 ??????

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Its not a good idea to leave it on all night. if you have a powerful ( or even somewhat powerful) pc, its gonna be pulling a lot of power even when idle. Some components are also rated for a certain amount of hours, after that, they become more prone to fail.

Unless its critical that you save those minutes your pc takes to boot up, turn it off at night. You're gonna be doing the environment a lot of good.

 

[GenMarshall]

It's better to save your components from failing on you.

 

[Mise]

Why would you deliberately wear down your computer components needlessly???? How could that possibly benefit your computer????

Seriously, I know I'm using a lot of question marks, but I'm asking this genuinely: is there a reason why it's beneficial?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Why would you deliberately wear down your computer components needlessly???? How could that possibly benefit your computer????

Seriously, I know I'm using a lot of question marks, but I'm asking this genuinely: is there a reason why it's beneficial?

Its beneficial in an environment where you need a quick response. Such as a webserver. But for a home pc, there is no real reason to leave it on. The stress put on the components at boot time is nothing compared to the stress of working for 8 hours.

 

[Till]

During boot up, circuits are still cold and thus have a higher conductivity. This, coupled with a crappy PSU might increase the odds of having a voltage spike fry your hardware.

I don't think it's a significant increase, however. Certainly not if you have a halfway decent PSU.

 

[Mulholland]

Why would you deliberately wear down your computer components needlessly???? How could that possibly benefit your computer????

Seriously, I know I'm using a lot of question marks, but I'm asking this genuinely: is there a reason why it's beneficial?

I'm not sure if I understand you question but I'll give it a shot.

Every time you start your computer the different circuits inside will experience a current through them. When they are relatively cold they are better conductors allowing for more current to pass through them. As they warm up they restrict the flow of current to what level they were intended to operate. Therefore every time you start you computer there is a relative power surge which makes the circuits produce more heat. Remember that power is equal to voltage times current(P=E*I), all else equal, those components will experience a very brief heating up above what temperature they are intended to run at. Did your grandmother ever tell you that every time you turned a light on and off it cost you 5 cents? This is the reasoning behind that old saying.

That being said, modern computers are designed to operate within a considerable safety factor and the millisecond of power surge experience by your components when you boot you computer should not have much effect. If you were to do this repeatedly(power on and off) like twice a second over the course of a day then you might start to see some detrimental effect.

I agree with stickciv that you'll be doing much more favour to the environment and your hydro bill by powering down your computer when you're not using it. I also believe that your psu, cpu fan and other mechanical components will burn out much more quickly if it is running 24-7 than it would with multiple boots a day. If your cpu fan burns out that will probably negate any longevity gains that you may have accrued by leaving you computer on.

 

[Cutlass]

I don't see any benefit from a computer being left on when not in use. The original idea behind leaving electronics on was to avoid what's called "chip creep", which was a tendency for parts to work their way loose from frequent heating and cooling from ons and offs. That is not a factor in modern computers the way they are constructed.

So I say a lower power bill and less hours clocked on the components is the way to go.

 

[Zelig]

Although, keep in mind that in the winter, if you're heating your house by electricity, all the waste heat from leaving your computer on overnight is simply lowering your heat bill by an equivalent amount.

 

[Mulholland]

Although, keep in mind that in the winter, if you're heating your house by electricity, all the waste heat from leaving your computer on overnight is simply lowering your heat bill by an equivalent amount.

Nice. Not the most efficient space heater in the world. But most definatley the most versatile.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Just start up a torrent and bam, two birds with one stone.

 

[GenMarshall]

Nice. Not the most efficient space heater in the world. But most definatley the most versatile.

To bad heat is a killer to electronic components if not managed properly

 

[cubsfan6506]

Its not a good idea to leave it on all night. if you have a powerful ( or even somewhat powerful) pc, its gonna be pulling a lot of power even when idle. Some components are also rated for a certain amount of hours, after that, they become more prone to fail.

Unless its critical that you save those minutes your pc takes to boot up, turn it off at night. You're gonna be doing the environment a lot of good.

I didn't even think about the enviremonet I'll turn it off.

TY

 

[lndm]

The main issue with the electronics is physical stress due to expansion and contraction. Leaving the system in a consistent state (either on or off) will obviate this issue.

Hard drives used to be sensitive to being left on as the bearings would wear out and the unit would fail, but these days they have liquid bearings.

Really, there is hardly a reliability issue to be concerned about in practise. It might be best to turn it on/off only once per day though, in my opinion as the best compromise, but it's hardly necessary for a system that you'll probably only have for a few years.

 

[Jazzmail]

You can turn a computer off and on very very often and it won't fail [over a long period that is. don't flick the switch rapidly you crazy bastards].

Your computer will be worth less than scrap, before it fails due to boot-ups.

Overclocking and/or poor cooling may reduce the lifetime of a chip to less than a few decades, but other than that, only disk drives and DVD drives are somewhat prone to failure.

Turn it off when you're not using it for more than an hour.

 

[lndm]

I read you on the optical drives. My first CD burner lived 4 years. Now I get 3 to 9 months out of 'em.

 

[averagejoe]

I turn it off unless im defragging or something in which the computer is being used. If not i might as well put sign on asking the electric company to please increase my bill. i once unplugged every electrical appliance when not in use unless it had to be on and my bill was like 28 dollars. Plugged everything back in and it shot up to like 60 dollars. If im going to be away for more than 30 minutes i will shut computer off. Otherwise i will keep it on from the time i get home from work till i go to bed. Now if i turned it off and on everytime i watched a movie, read a book, or took a shower then it probably wouldnt last long.

Another thing to consider is that besides wasting all that electricity by the time your computer crashes it will probably be time for a new pc anyway.
Im talking turning it on a few times a day and not on and off constantly.
I got a desktop system i built in 2004 and it still runs fine.

I still have a HP cd writer from 2000 that still works.I find it more than my hardware lasts longer than the software. I had to buy a new audio card cause no driver would work for Vista and its the same soundblaster card i bought for Vista. Creative Labs had a driver from their site but of course it didnt work. Wonder if they did it to get people to buy more audio cards.