Leave computer on? Turn off for the night?

xboxist · Oct 16, 2006

Ok... I feel like this may be one of those "OMG not again" topics, but I've personally never seen one.

I'll keep it simple. I've built a nice new rig. Do I want to turn it off at night when I go to bed? Or is it better to leave it on for days at a time and only restart for settings-changes, etc.?

Or... neither? Does it really not matter?

Baked · Oct 16, 2006

People who run DC keep them on 24/7. I don't run anything in the background. I turn my system off everynight.

darkswordsman17 · Oct 16, 2006

If you're not running something or have things like anti-virus and whatnot scheduled then I would turn it off.

If you want it to startup nice and quick then put it into hibernation.

MercenaryForHire · Oct 16, 2006

Unless the noise is getting to you, or it's some monster that sucks 400W even at idle (doubtful) - leave it on unless you really need to reboot it.

My server has been up for 24 days, 15 hours, 10 minutes, and 48 seconds - last shutdown was due to an extended power outage that my UPS couldn't tank.

- M4H

SparkyJJO · Oct 16, 2006

I keep my system running 24/7 usually. I do run folding@home so that is part of it. Noise doesn't bother me, it is a very quiet system. But then, it gets drowned out by the 4 other systems in my room anyway

YOyoYOhowsDAjello · Oct 16, 2006

OMG not again

PhoenixOrion · Oct 17, 2006

i keep all my rigs on at night, coz that's when systems turn on:

1. scheduled defrag
2. scheduled virus scans
3. schedule spyware scans
4. scheduled downloads
5. scheduled updates

Pabster · Oct 17, 2006

I've never shut any of my rigs off. 24/7 operation always.

Anecdotal evidence suggests it is better for the lifespan of the equipment and the few extra dollars it costs don't amount to squat.

SparkyJJO · Oct 17, 2006

lol nice YOyo :laugh:

Seekermeister · Oct 17, 2006

Besides, if I turned mine off, it would be too quiet to sleep.

pkme2 · Oct 17, 2006

My computers are off when not in use.

letdown427 · Oct 17, 2006

Mine does it's anti virus scanning and updating overnight. I don't turn it off, just succumb to the odd compulsory restart.

Given how long you're going to have the PC, it really doesn't make any difference.

KAZANI · Oct 17, 2006

Do you american folks ever stop to think how disgustingly wasteful you seem to the rest of the world? I mean, where do you learn to be such energy hogs? Is there a special course at elementary school where they indoctrinate you to the principle: "Energy saving: Just say no!"
For the love of God, stop being such slobs and turn a machine off when it's not at use!

Oh, and...
Quote
"Anecdotal evidence suggests it is better for the lifespan of the equipment"

M-A-L-A-R-K-Y! I have 15 year-old systems going on and off many times a day and they still run like new.

oztrailrider · Oct 17, 2006

I shut my machines off most of the time, sometimes I leave my old PIII box running since it takes so long to boot. I do believe leaving it running would probably aid the life of the hardware though.

corkyg · Oct 17, 2006

As you can see - it really is a matter of personal preference. I have done both - but I am currently in the "leave it on" mode when I am home. And, I am particularly sensitive to the point made by Kazani... One thing I will never do is to enable hibernation. I have had to fix too many that fail to wake up. It is somewhat of an immature technology - so is standby.

I do turn off the monitor whenever I am away from the computer. And everything is off when ever I am away.

And YoYo - so true.

Oyeve · Oct 17, 2006

I hibernate when I'm not using my system. Saves energy and my elecrtic bill.

Kirby64 · Oct 17, 2006

Mine goes on in the morning, and goes off when I go to sleep. My folks wouldn't want it running 24/7 because 1) they pay the power bills and 2) the shiny blue LED lights would bother them

Boyo · Oct 17, 2006

I leave it on all day long, but it always gets turned off at night. I'm paranoid about overuse.

sswingle · Oct 17, 2006

Mine runs all the time running Folding@Home.

There are many things that waste power more than a pc running.

Modular · Oct 17, 2006

Originally posted by: KAZANI
Do you american folks ever stop to think how disgustingly wasteful you seem to the rest of the world? I mean, where do you learn to be such energy hogs? Is there a special course at elementary school where they indoctrinate you to the principle: "Energy saving: Just say no!"
For the love of God, stop being such slobs and turn a machine off when it's not at use!

KANZAI wouldn't happen to be a Chinese member would he/she? The irony would just be too much.

Bobthelost · Oct 17, 2006

Originally posted by: Modular

Originally posted by: KAZANI
Do you american folks ever stop to think how disgustingly wasteful you seem to the rest of the world? I mean, where do you learn to be such energy hogs? Is there a special course at elementary school where they indoctrinate you to the principle: "Energy saving: Just say no!"
For the love of God, stop being such slobs and turn a machine off when it's not at use!

Click to expand...

KANZAI wouldn't happen to be a Chinese member would he/she? The irony would just be too much.

Who said i was a yank?

Mine stays on if it's doing something, off otherwise. Component wear and tear will be negligable or better with turning it off imo, power consumption it doesn't make much difference as it's a low powered machine by design but saving a few KW never hurts.

xboxist · Oct 17, 2006

hehe... just what I expected:

Some people telling me to leave it on, some telling me to turn it off, and someone from a third world country badmouthing Americans while they turn off their Intel386 Wordpad server for the night.

Bob Anderson · Oct 17, 2006

Originally posted by: xboxist
Ok... I feel like this may be one of those "OMG not again" topics, but I've personally never seen one.

I'll keep it simple. I've built a nice new rig. Do I want to turn it off at night when I go to bed? Or is it better to leave it on for days at a time and only restart for settings-changes, etc.?

Or... neither? Does it really not matter?

---------------------------

Here's my thinking:

If you don't need it on overnight, turn it off.

Bye the way, my energy consumption meter at the wall outlet shows my average consumption when the comp and LCD and UPS are on at 160 watts. Turning of the comp and LCD reduces that to 48 watts average. (My UPS is the dual conversion type and is always charging a small amount). That's a 112 watt saving overnight.

I went on an energy saving binge over the last 4 years and have cut my annual consumption (Kwh) by 30%. Color me green and holier than most

-Bob

rudder · Oct 17, 2006

Originally posted by: xboxist
hehe... just what I expected:

Some people telling me to leave it on, some telling me to turn it off, and someone from a third world country badmouthing Americans while they turn off their Intel386 Wordpad server for the night.

well you should have made a poll!

I've always turned mine off... especially since it can go a day or so without being touched. I do have a low powered VIA cpu based machine that I use for file transfers or if I need to access remotely to my stuff. That typically stays on since the cpu probably only uses 12watts at full load.

corkyg · Oct 17, 2006

Looks like there is an element of truth in all positions - and this recognition my MS is worthy of note. Looks to me that down the road, it is a non-problem.
MS

Leave computer on? Turn off for the night?

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