-
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.
Leave PC on 24/7 or turn on/off each day better for components?
- Thread starter corinthos
- Start date
crimson117
Platinum Member
If you leave it on 24/7 (heck even if you turn it off when you're not using it) be sure to have a UPS battery backup to cover brown-outs and short power outages. Sudden power loss can be very damaging to hard drives, from a data integrity point of view.
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.)
(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.)
jimbofoxman
Senior member
Same a here as CorkyG.............On 24/7, unless I go away. Both home PC's and work PC
murphyslabrat
Senior member
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.
Thegonagle
Diamond Member
There was that one guy here, anyone remember, who somehow caused his OC'd AMD setup to catch fire. I remember that he poured a glass of Coke on the system board, which either caused the fire, or just complicated the matter. Either way, it was hilarious.
PCs on fire can be funny.
Thegonagle
Diamond Member
It's not like it's that bad to turn it on and off, although I do think it's good to limit the total number of on-off cycles.
If you're done using it, but you might use it again in the next 6-8 hours, leave it running. If you know that you won't use it for more than 6-8 hours, for example, while you're sleeping or at work, shut it down. The extra wear and tear of a fresh bootup is probably inconsequential next to the fact that when the PC is off, the bearings in your moving parts (HDs and fans) won't be subjected to needless wear (your hard drives and fans will actually last longer), the fans won't be drawing in heatsink-clogging dust (less frequent maintenance), and, with most P4-era and newer systems drawing an average of 100 to 200 watts from the wall, you can probably lower your electric bill $3-5 per month per system that you don't leave running 24/7.
If you're done using it, but you might use it again in the next 6-8 hours, leave it running. If you know that you won't use it for more than 6-8 hours, for example, while you're sleeping or at work, shut it down. The extra wear and tear of a fresh bootup is probably inconsequential next to the fact that when the PC is off, the bearings in your moving parts (HDs and fans) won't be subjected to needless wear (your hard drives and fans will actually last longer), the fans won't be drawing in heatsink-clogging dust (less frequent maintenance), and, with most P4-era and newer systems drawing an average of 100 to 200 watts from the wall, you can probably lower your electric bill $3-5 per month per system that you don't leave running 24/7.
For me, "at work" is right here at home on my computer. I use it all day on and off from about 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM. I always turn off the monitor when I am away from the desk.
I leave it on at night when I go to bed - that amounts to about 8 hours on average, and that is when the system maintains itself and updates itself (Windows, AV, Firewall, etc.)
And, for those who are using VOIP telephone service, it has to stay on or you have no phone.
I leave it on at night when I go to bed - that amounts to about 8 hours on average, and that is when the system maintains itself and updates itself (Windows, AV, Firewall, etc.)
And, for those who are using VOIP telephone service, it has to stay on or you have no phone.
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.
Jersey Joe
Member
HTPC's usually are 24/7 by nature if you record shows and such.
If you have a watercooled setup that catches fire it will put itself out...maybe 🙂
If you have a watercooled setup that catches fire it will put itself out...maybe 🙂
Please provide specific instances that are verifiable. I have never known of or read of any except the laptop battery fires.
Smoke detectors are really important- I worry more about my hot water heater and gas furnace than my computer. Don't forget the refrigerator freezer, and the TV set that is on standby. 🙂
Smoke detectors are really important- I worry more about my hot water heater and gas furnace than my computer. Don't forget the refrigerator freezer, and the TV set that is on standby. 🙂
Matthias99
Diamond Member
I have never (personally) seen a desktop PC catch on fire, but I have seen power supplies on servers that blew out and were, at the very least, putting out a lot of smoke and left the insides awfully charred. I've heard (secondhand) stories of SAN/NAS arrays that had fan failures and the power supplies/UPS batteries actually caught fire. Those are not good, since you're talking multi-kilowatt power supplies and sizable batteries.
A PC power supply that shorts out could be putting several hundred watts through capacitors or circuit boards that are not really made to handle that. High power + electronic components = fire.
As for 'leave your PC on or turn it on/off' -- from a power usage standpoint, you should turn it off. At the VERY least, turn off the monitor and have the hard drives spin down (and, if possible, use dynamic clocking to lower your CPU speed and/or voltage while idle.)
IMO, the only other thing you should really worry about failing is the hard drive. The motor in your hard drive is working whenever the drive is spinning; to minimize wear, you should have it spin down whenever you will not be using a drive for a while. Of course, spinning it up also strains the motor, so you wouldn't want to be doing that 20 times a day. I usually set my system so that after something like 30 minutes with no disk activity, it spins the drives down. But I keep my system on 24/7 unless I plan on being away for several days.
imported_Imp
Diamond Member
In the end, it doesn't matter. Corporations have millions of dollars in information invested in the servers they leave on every second of the day. You have zero to a couple grand. I 'do' roughly the same thing whenever I spend money on new stuff; I regularly dusted and covered up my new LCD 2 years ago, then I got tired after 3 months and treat it like my 10 year old TV. It's still working. My old system ran for 5 years flawlessly with daily on/off cycles(why didn't it die...), and I still do it with my new system. Just leave it off for the sake of power conservation. By the time it actually it dies from cycling (if at all), you'll be happy since it'd be so outdated.
I also work from home, and leave my PC on 24/7, even when I am away. Since I used XP Pro and now Vista Ultimate I leave it on so I can Remote Desktop into it, which I do frequently when I am away from home. I also use VOIP (Cisco 7940) but it doesn't need my PC to run, just my router.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 24K
-
-
