Turn the PC off or leave it on?

[iholla]

This issue goes way back......All my machines run 24/7. They are clean and cool, with proper standby/hibernate settings for minimal power use.

I do agree that with optimal sleep/hibernate settings, you can save your self some $ in terms of power consumption...but thats it.

Repeated sleep/hibernate sessions fill your system with junk and due to numerous state-saves and paging file constraints, your p-files are compressed to high ratios which require alot of system resources to extract and restore during system 'wake-ups'.

Hibernate states use almost no power at all hence on 'wake-up', the system takes a lot longer to warm up. It has to extract compressed p-file, restore previous session and all this is done by cross-referencing and indexing...low system resources mean more hdd cycles required etc

In such a case, clean system boot is faster and better.

 

[Twinkie]

I think it is very important to hibernate the computer when you leave because it saves energy and you need to turn off your computers every month or so to finish installs. You can just use CCleaner to delete any files left by the hibernation.

There is no reason to leave your computer on just to waste energy and gather dust if you could have it on in 10 seconds exactly the way you left it with hibernation. I agree if you have the time to wait for your system to boot up then turning it off is better. But for those who would rather keep it on, then hibernating will save a lot of time and energy.

Nice truck iholla! XD

 

[Mindbleed]

Well, I might leave my computer on if it were not for the fact that it is loud and In my room and I value my sleep.

Also, I just feel that it may not be worth shutting it down every time you leave the room but it does not seem like a detriment to turn it off at night.

 

[Swiblet]

I keep it on hibernate whenever I leave for longer than 30 minutes and I turn it off every night. Other than that, it stays on. Turning on my computer is no trouble because in the morning, I wake up, quickly press the power button, and then go to do my morning routines. By the time I come back, my computer is on and ready, then I can just hibernate it if I'm not going to use it immediately.

I usually do, though, since most DeviantArtists leave comments at night ^_~

~~B3N

 

[FalseHope]

I leave my PC on, mainly because I am in many support channels and cannot miss PM's, important ones. I also like to leave it on, just because I hate waited for it to boot up lol. Not that it takes long, I just hate the 1 minute wait.

 

[Adam!]

I turn mine off.. but if I was using it as a server.. I'd leave it on =D

 

[Rolyin]

Well before I cleverly managed to break my Linux server while cleaning it I did leave it on pretty much 24/7 (unless my dad noticed it was on) but it was close to the floor so I had to constantly clean it but it ran fine.

 

[Kieran G]

I generally leave my box on for about 5 hrs but turn it off/hibernate when unused.

 

[DRWolfe]

I've had a PC running 24/7 for several YEARS, I'm not even sure how many any more, as a web server, and I've not had a single component go bad yet... *knocking on wood*. So, I'd say leaving them on is not going to wear out the components. I use a laptop as my main PC, and I carry it between home and work, so I can't leave it on, but if I could I would. So much time wasted waiting for boot up/shut down.

 

[Nightmare Demon]

my pc's are turned off after every session and once a month I open up case and clean them.If you have you tower on the ground or in the air unless you clean it dust will happen.

 

[TechAsh]

I normally turn off my PC when it's not doing anything. This is for a number of reasons

1. ££££
2. The Environment
3. I don't want to ware out the fans. If any components are to ware out it'll be the fans.

I probably could leave my computer on 24/7 but a lot of the time it isn't doing anything.

 

[MaestroFX1]

Longevity directly depends upon heat production.

 

[crisp]

This is an interesting topic, and one I've discussed many times with others, and there are valid points for both side of the argument. I have a home dev server and HTPC media centre which both run 24/7.

My reasons have always been the same, for 1, undoubtedly, powering up, and powering down a pc causes more stress on components than most other activities, in the same way starting a car engine causes most wear.

My second reason, is that my boxes run better. I've never suffered the slowdown I hear others complain of after a few months of use in the normal way, powering up and down daily. Windows waits until it's been sitting idle for a while and then kicks in, optimizing things, if you power on, do what ya gotta do, then power off, this housekeeping never happens.

Even if you do decide that leaving your PC running 24/7 isn't for you, I'd recommend you at least leave it on for a while every now and then to let Windows sort itself out. I follow this practice regularly with my laptop which is the only PC I don't have a need for 24/7.

 

[Blockis2]

Turn it offf...

 

[beegdaddy]

I usually let my laptop hibernate after some inactivity time as Windows usually ensures that I reboot every once a while

But my Network Storage Adapter (running Linux) is switched on 24 hours but has been set to reboot every 14 days to ensure that memory leakage is minimised.

BeegDaddy

 

[Warren Thorp]

I myself have a laptop which I let run itself 24/7 because I log certain things on MIRC for a server I am on all the time. To beat the heat problem I either leave it on its side or place it on something that allows air to go underneath it to keep any heat from building up under it and burning my system up

And yes, for lappies the first thing to go is either the fan or the processor itself

 

[Zdroyd]

I shutdown...
Even though I hate waiting for it to start up again.

When they make an computer that uses no $ when its running but not active, I'll leave it on.

And of course when I ever get my own server computer I will leave that on.

Mainly I dont want to harm the Earth or harm my empty wallet.

 

[mender42]

"Leave it on" has been the general rule since forever. In my neighborhood the power is "dirty", you should see my lights dim and flicker. Bad, bad very bad for a computer. So I would recommend to anyone, anywhere a surge protector rated for the Watts you are using.

My computer is on the floor, sucking dust everyday, right next to the cleaning kit, Air, qtips, and alchohol for the regular cleaning. Never had a problem. I have old Creative Labs 16 bit boards in box that still work (good spares,great for server boxes) never "browned out".

I guess the only other problem you might run into is if you run "hot" you might get a better CPU tower, with more fans and better Air flow. I find Mid and mini towers tend to heat up more so I have a full sized tower.

 

[paul.sijpkes]

I've been turning my computer on and off for intervals of 2 or 3 hours at a time for about 7 years, never had a problem. I really don't think this makes any difference. A server box will be designed to run indefinitely where as a home PC will be designed more for turning off regularly.

 

[cowctcat]

Personaly i leave my computers on as long as im not away for more than a day. With what you said with power failures and stuff i guess it doesent help that I almost always have two other computers three printers and a copy machine always running on the same circut