• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

For all who run their computers 24/7

L

leconc

Member
Have you found that your systems that run 24/7, like in a DC project, last longer than your on/off systems? I'm curious as to what goes belly up first in a 24/7 system. My guess is the HD or PSU. How long do your 24/7 systems last? Please share your experiences. Thanks
 
heres my theory on this... have you ever seen a light bulb burn out when its already on? powering up and down with most electronic devices is where you will see things crap out. ive had more success with computers that are never shutdown/rebooted than those that are powered off on a daily basis. with that being said, ive seen 2 power supplies burn out in my crunchers (fan on psu went out so it got overheated and thus shut itself down) and multiple hard drive burn outs. the hard drives are because i use older drives that already have a ton of hours of use on them because they are only a few gigs and thats all i need for most boxes.
 
I have had several computers in the last 15 years, and to varying degree's they have been on 24x7 or not. To be honest, I have not noticed a pattern of on and off. Of course stuff built more recently tends to be more reliable than stuff built long ago.

All told, I have had to replace two HD's, and a few RAM chips. Most of those were likely due to er.. um.. Human Error.

Michael.
 
in a constant on environment, your moving parts that creat friction will be the first to go.

using today's components under ideal situations (good ambient temp, clean UPS filtered power), that means fans (of all kinds including psu) then hard drives, then optical drives. (hard drives are actually 2nd because of the sealed construction and fluid dynamic bearing systems in current hard drives)
 
As before with the S@H project, my CPDN fleet is 95%(or thereabouts) at home, so using the 11 rigs running in "the basement" as my base, I've found that it's mostly power-supplies and fans that end up going first.

However, I have the tendency to turn machines over fairly quickly to get "the most bang per kilowatt-hour" 😉 So the fleet is in a rather constant state of flux anyway, so hardware is getting changed out regardless. 😀
 
me either

The only problems I've had is with fan bearings going kaput and needing to replace the fans.
 
Well, the list of failed components goes something like this:
1; Mouse -- the old ball-type was constantly giving problems. Thankfully this is now fixed by optical mouse.
2; Cd/dvd-player; this is the component very fast giving read-errors, and over time not reading anything successfully.
3; cpu-fans; due to an old dual-p2-333 that now is retired. Also changed one amd, due to own stupidity. 😱
4; psu, one probably due to too high load then moved to another box due to another psu failing.
5; monitor, RMA'd the same monitor twice... :frown:
6; Keyboard 😱
7; hd, still usable if needed if disable write-cache...
8; A crappy Epox-mainboard that gave nothing but problems. :|
9; floppy-disk-player.

Also, the graphics-card fails to run some of the newer games...
 
psu's!

and in my unique case..3 high end video cards throughout 6 years (every 2 years...) <-- electrical wiring problem in the house 🙂
 
The only things I've ever lost is the GPU fan on a GeForce TI4200 and a few case fans. 3 - 60x60X15mm fans, and 2 - 80x80x25mm. I did lose an IBM Death Star 75GXP hard drive, but it was when they had the big recal going on so it was RMA'd.

I've always believed that if you buy quality products they'll last longer. Sunnon, Vantec, Adda, Panaflo &amp; Thermaltake fans and SPI, Antec &amp; Thermaltake power supplies.
 
I run a whole lot of systems 24x - some have been up for at least 10 years.
I prefer to use SCSI drives in mission critical systems.

Here is what I do when the systems are NEW:
1. Replace crappy bearing fans with high quality ball bearing fans (psu, case, processor, video, etc)
2. Install as many case fans as the case permits (most come with optional fan mountings but no fans).
3. Ensure good cooling for all components (CPU, chipsets, memory, HD, other drives, adapter cards). This usually involves some reversal of fans and/or one or two strategically placed interior baffles.
4. Neaten up all cabling with wire ties. Flat cables are folded or replaced with round cables in critical cooling situations.
5. Install and configure monitoring software so that I get an alert when any critical fan is BEGINNING to show signs of problems.
6. UPS on every computer to provide clean power.
7. I "lubricate" all power connectors with a conductive grease to prevent resistive connections due to corrosion or tarnishing -- and low voltage --> HEAT.

Here is the quarterly maintenance schedule:
1. Check all fans
2. Blow out all dust including the PSU
3. Check temperature logs

Here are the failures over the past decade:
1. Multiple Seagate ST34572W SCSI HD (bad design? - I don't use this model anymore after 6 failed drives. I have 2 that still work - any takers?)
2. 1 Seagate Cheetah 18.3Gb SCSI HD
3. Many IDE drives - mostly WD
4. 1 PSU
5. Multiple Floppy and LS120 Drives
6. 2 CD-ROM Drives
7. 2 Motherboards - Capacitor Problems - Swelled/Leaking/Popped

I find IDE drives last about 1-2 years (1 year warranty) or about 3-5 years (3 year warranty).

SCSI drives seem to be built to last forever unless I do something really stupid. I've had only isolated SCSI failures.

The worst enemy is HEAT. Then comes dust and "varnish" that builds up inside the case which leads to HEAT and failure.

I have dual Pentium 200's that have run for over a decade. Many other machines that are within a year or two of the decade mark.

Machines that are powered on/off daily seem to go south with all sorts of maladies within 6 months to 2 years no matter what the quality of the components. Memory, Motherboards, HD, FD, CD, Fans top the list.
 
I couldn't agree more with mondobyte. I do exactly what he does and only had blown PSU (fan died and I didn't notice) and a few other dead fans on six computers in three years. And as it was said earlier, a already turned on light bulb is way more unlikely to blow than one you switch off and on every now and then. :beer:

EDIT:

The only exception so far for me are laptop computers. They seem to wear out much faster than a desktop computer if you don't take some good meassures of keeping them clean and cool. I have a good household fan pointing on my laptop whenever it is turned on, which makes my HD temp drop from around 39 to nice 27 °C. Same for my CPU fans. I found a nice utility to manually control the RPM for the CPU fan, so I always have it at max and thus my CPU temps drop from arounf 50 to 44 °C. So laptops are a bit more work to keep in good shape if done properly they should last almost as long as a desktop PC. :beer:
 
heh... I was saying that, due to many 24x7 machines running, MY HEARING IS GOING.... quite on topic I think! 😛
 
Originally posted by: BlackMountainCow
I couldn't agree more with mondobyte. I do exactly what he does and only had blown PSU (fan died and I didn't notice) and a few other dead fans on six computers in three years. And as it was said earlier, a already turned on light bulb is way more unlikely to blow than one you switch off and on every now and then. :beer:

EDIT:

The only exception so far for me are laptop computers. They seem to wear out much faster than a desktop computer if you don't take some good meassures of keeping them clean and cool. I have a good household fan pointing on my laptop whenever it is turned on, which makes my HD temp drop from around 39 to nice 27 °C. Same for my CPU fans. I found a nice utility to manually control the RPM for the CPU fan, so I always have it at max and thus my CPU temps drop from arounf 50 to 44 °C. So laptops are a bit more work to keep in good shape if done properly they should last almost as long as a desktop PC. :beer:
Click to expand...

I usually wear notebook keyboards out once a year. I use my notebooks for 10-12 hours a day though...
 
Computers wear out before they are obsolete?😛

Over the years I have only lost two hard drives to bearing failure -- neither led to data loss. Fans get noisy, but most can be lubricated to quiet them down again.
 
The only problem I've had is 2 WD hardrives (6.4 gig) on the same machine ( HP Pavilion) and a slot one adapter that didn't like being overclocked. ..................................otherwise.........no problemo 😉
 
I kill PSUs regularly... mostly because I buy cheap ones for my cheap crunchers... gets the folks at work all in a tizzy when they start smelling smoke... :roll:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top