Do you guys even shutdown the PC?

[FordLorider]

shutdown whenever I am not using at home, leave it on when I have my cable/ethernet, people will leave messages on AOL but won't leave messages on my answering machine. Yes I use AOL not because I love AOL but because that's what most people use because IRC is too complicated for my chickens .

 

[BFG10K]

I shut my system down when I go to sleep at night - unless I'm downloading something really big.

 

[Superwormy]

I used to leave my two on all the time, but our electric bill skyrocketed, a computer can add like 300 bucks a year to your electric bill. My daddy got really mad...

Now I leave one on and shut the other off when not in use

 

[Atlantean]

The computer that I currently am using has been on 24/7 for the past 3 years. (well aside from power outages, and whenever I got so damn frustrated with the thing that I had to turn it off, and whenever adding components) The computer still runs fine, I think that the power supply is getting old though because the power light keeps flickering

 

[Dan]

If I'm home, it's on. If I'm gone (or asleep) it's off.

 

[Paulson]

I do not have a UPS...

I don't really see the need for it. And one of my comps still is under warranty so I'm not really worried. The other is old and if it dies, it dies...

 

[bluegi]

yes, whenever i don't use it. mostly off at nights or if i am going out for more than few hours

 

[Poncherelli]

I turn it off at night and turn it back on every morning, sometimes i forget, but for the most part its usually on.

 

[AMCRambler]

And the answer is: either way, you have to decide, lol.

 

[clumsum]

I am not convinced that frequent shutting down and booting up the pc causes any additional stress on components from the hdd, mb or cpu to any other drives in the system.

I think that heat and dust cause more stress on pc's than anything else and if it's not running, it's not heating up or sucking dust.
You don't leave your radio or TV on day and night do you when no one is there to watch or listen to it, unless it's for security reasons, to make your neighbors think someone is home !!!

The newer os' are much more stable than the early one's and the computers boot faster than ever.
You can set your pc to boot up (from sleep mode) and de-frag in the middle of the night or day and afterwards they seem to run faster and smoother, so frequently shutting down and re-booting only seems to help things ........
I disable the power managment in the bios and software and just turn it on or off as needed .......... seems to work much better for my use.

 

[Dulanic]

Shutdown? Whats that? Oh yes now I remeber, its the button I press before upgrading I think.

 

[MrCodeDude]

Yes. Because of the Power Shortage and high rates here in CA, I shut off everything in my room when I'm gone..
-- mrcodedude

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

Nope, runs 24/7. In fact, I keep everything open and just Passwork-Lock the computer once the ScreenSaver kicks in. WinAmp, Nero, etc run 24/7.

 

[damocles]

On as much as possible

 

[Shooters]

I leave mine on all the time except when I'm going to be out of town for a few days.

 

[rbV5]

I only shut down when I go on Vacation, or when I stick a new component in. Probably been shut down 2 weeks total this year.

 

[Phiberoptix]

I would leave the pc on 24/7, cause I'm in a folding@home team and my 1ghz duron would fold faster than you can say pindamonhangaba.

But I shutdown everyday. Why ? I live in Brazil, where there's an power outage as bad (if not worst) as in california. I have to cut the power by 20% and leaving the pc on all night wouldn't help at all.

 

[Kindjal]

I only have the computer on when I am using it. Since I work long days and prefer not to feed the power meter, my computer stays off when I'm not home. I do have a UPS and have had one for 7 years.

 

[thorin]

24/7 with a UPS that will give me 20 to 45 mins (depends if the Monitor is on or standby) if the power goes off.

I personally feel that it puts less wear and tear on the components if you leave them on all the time.

Murdock2525
"APC 500 pro hooked to an APC surge arrest pro."

I'm pretty sure it says in bold or underlining in the manual that you should NOT plug your UPS into a surge protector/power bar.

Thorin

 

[ArchAngel777]

Your monitor takes up far more power than your computer........ If you really wanna save money, don't use your screensaver, just power off the monitor



I leave my computer running 24/7. But I turn the monitor off at nighttime.

Since I am not the only one living here, I am not gonna TRY my hardest to save engergy, because the others don't.... the less I use then they compensate by using more.

Your TV takes just as much power as your Tower, and most of the time a little more...

So many things take power, cutting out a few of them is not gonna save much $. It prob costs you 1 extra dollor a month to leave your computer and monitor running the entire month. So turn monitor off and save .50

Just my look on the matter

BTW I don't think its hard on computers to be run 24/7. We are not talking mechanicle moving parts here that wear out. (besides HD and PSU & fan)

 

[MrWhiteUK]

My comp makes my room too hot so it goes off at night and when i'm out.

How can u get your comp to boot up, defrag and then shutdown?

Bootup set in the bios
How do u set defrag to start?
And how do you get it to shutdown after defrag, or do you just get it to shutdown after so many minutes? SHDN now?


Thanks

 

[poopaskoopa]

I can't run SETI when it's down, so I leave it on 24/7.

 

[virtuamike]

When I was in the dorms I left mine on all the time. But now that I'm in an apt and electricity is expensive (CA) I turn it off whenever I'm not using it.

 

[LukFilm]

I actually do. I need to sleep and my PC is a bit noisy.

 

[GrumpyMan]

Normally I turn mine off overnight until I get home from work. Saving money is the only reason I do that. If a component dies by powering on and off then I don't really want that component in my system. By saving money here and there I am able to upgrade almost at will. Penny here, penny there........you get the idea.