Devices - Leave them on or off?

[hypeMarked]

I have a Sony G420S monitor, and each time I turn it on, it makes a very loud sound (deguass or something). That sound makes me worry. I was wondering if that is normal or not? Also, the manual that comes with the monitor said that when it has no signal, it will go into suspend mode and takes only <3 watts, so should I leave the monitor on all the time? What did you guys do to your 19" monitor? Leave them on or off when not in use?

Since I am on this topic, the altec lansing 641 also has a power switch in the back of the subwoofer, should I leave this on or off when not in use? If I leave it on, but turned turned it the speakers off with the remote - does it uses 400watt?

Another device I would like to ask also is a router, should I leave this on or off when not in use?

I usually turn my computer on and off once a day for a period of >8 hours.

Thanks for the inputs

 

[ProviaFan]

That degaussing sound upon turning on the monitor is quite normal. Generally, if the computer is going to be off, you might as well turn the monitor off, too, but I suppose it's mostly personal preference. Anyway, that monitorsdirect guy will probably come in here shortly and give you a much better answer, so I'll just shut up for now.

 

[herbage11]

Good thread. I have a Sony G400 monitor and some 400 watt speakers. I leave the system on all day. Turn the speakers on when I use them and shut it all down at night. Not sure if this is the way to go or not but the system is pretty new and I guess the power bill will have the answer . Curious to see what others think about this topic.

 

[Derango]

My main system, including moniter is shut down at night and when I'm not using it. My server is up 24/7. My speakers are in standby mode (technicly off) when I have the computer off. My router is on all the time.

 

[Gosharkss]

Like jliechty said the degauss sound is very normal, nothing to worry about, in fact this is a good thing.

When the monitors goes into its power save mode, it draws typically 3-5 watts, enough to keep the sensor alive that detects the H/V-signal used to wake the monitor up out of power save mode. Same deal with all television sets that use remote controls, they draw 3-5 watts of power to keep the remote sensor alive.

In fact the power switch on many monitors does not even switch the AC input voltage. They simply put the monitor in power save mode. So technically power save is the same as turning the power switch off.

The argument of turning off vs. leaving on has been debated many times and there are two camps. One that says turn the monitors off when not in use to save life span the other says leave it on to reduce the strain of the components heating up and cooling down.

I lean to the ?turn the unit off or use power save? camp, especially when we are talking about monitors.

The weakest link in any monitor is the phosphors and the electron gun. As you use CRT's the phosphors and the cathode of the electron gun start to degrade. These days we are using techniques that make the cathodes last much longer than the rated life of the phosphor.

There are two technologies Aperture grill and shadow mask. On an aperture grill more beam current hits the phosphor. This is why AG monitors typically have more vivid colors. The downside of that is that the phosphors are more prone to screen burn and will degrade faster. Thus it is my opinion that shadow mask monitors will have a longer life span. Turning the brightness and contrast down will help prolong the life of the CRT. Based on this you can see there are a number of variables involved.

 

[CedarTeeth135]

^^^ Knows a lot about monitors.

 

[hypeMarked]

Thanks everybody for the input Sorry I couldn't reply earlier, I am at work :-(