Leave PC on 24/7 or turn on/off each day better for components?

[TJones2]

I keep mine on 24/7 and have for every machine I've owned since 1994. Problem is, at some point after installing the OS, power management stops working except for the monitors. So they really run full steam 24/7 and I haven't tracked down what's killing power management.

 

[grant2]

Originally posted by: locutus12
systems prefer to be left on, each time you turn a pc off all the components are just as susceptible to temperature contraction (and expansion upon startup) as any other material is at the right temperature. However the cost of running the system can be mitigated by using power saving features via your control panels power options.

So you activate all the power saving options, which mostly shuts down your computer anyways... no power = no heat to keep those expanded components warm... so you aren't really saving any wear & tear, especially on the HD which is the most affected.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I leave mine on 24/7 because it is never idle. Same with the 8 other boxes running in my room. All of them are always busy running F@H. Don't think I'll be able to run that many systems over the summer though while I'm home from college, parents didn't like the electric bill when it came after winter break

 

[Jiggz]

Dude, this has been discussed for so long and for so many times. The bottom line is turn it off if you will not use it for a significant amount of time. If it's less than a hour then just leave it on. And to reduce mechanical wear on the power switch, configure the bios to turn on the system either with a keyboard or mouse.

 

[zig3695]

Originally posted by: IdaGno
Not sure about this, but I think they (PC's) are less inclined to catch fire when OFF, which makes me hesitate to leave it/them on in my absence. Any component failure, even a complete system failure, is a whole lot easier to deal w/than being burned out of home or business.

(Just today replaced the PWR SWITCH cable on this box. A minor PITA & was out of service for 5 days, but not enough so to make me leave it on 24/7.)

risk of fire is good enough reason for anyone to spend that extra money to get brand-name quality parts. it makes a difference, especially in the long run.

 

[Sureshot324]

I like the light bulb analogy. Light bulbs are rated for a certain amount of hours AND a certain amount of times turned on, whichever comes first. If your only going to be gone from your computer for an hour or two, leave it on. If you won't use it for 12+ hours, turn it off.

 

[murphyslabrat]

From what I've read, the strain of booting up and loading an OS is equal to about 3-4 times the normal strain. I don't remember what the article was, but do a google search, that's what I did.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: murphyslabrat
Heya, What about from a power consumption point of view? What does it cost to leave it on vs turn it on then off when you're done.

My calculation is that it costs approximately $1/year/watt. So, if your system is drawing 100 watts it will cost you (well, me where I live in California) $100 to run it 24/7. Of course, with the monitor on it costs more. Personally, I turn off my systems if I'm not going to be using them for more than an hour or two. So far, well, my parts failures look pretty much like this:

Fans on a couple of video cards have failed.
Out of around 12 hard drives have one failure and it happened today (160 GB Seagate Barracuda)!

 

[thescreensavers]

Originally posted by: jimbofoxman
Same a here as CorkyG.............On 24/7, unless I go away. Both home PC's and work PC

 

[Mem]

You know that power button is for off as well as on guys,I personally shut mine down everynight,been doing that way for last 16 years or so,never had any problems,I also believe in not wasting electricity when you don't need too.