Leave PC on All the Time or Turn off each night

[starwars7]

Hey all, I always seem to get different opinions about leaving the PC on all the time VS turning it off each night, and figured I'd see if anyone here knew which was better for the life of the parts.

Thanks!

 

[PurdueRy]

It really shouldn't matter provided your system isn't OC'd and is stable. Seeing as yours is OC's I would recommend turning it off just for the sake of keeping the already (possibly) reduced longevity

 

[l Thomas l]

I would think turning it off would be better for the life of the parts, especially if you've overclocked. But I don't really know.

Personally, I turn mine off every night. It saves electricity, too.

 

[John]

This topic has been debated heavily over the years, and IMHO the only negative aspect of leaving a rig on 24/7 is that it makes your monthly electric bill about $20-30 (depending on your rate) more.

 

[Slammy1]

Agreed. It depends on a number of factors. In the Winter I don't mind leaving mine on but during the summer it gets hot. I think it's a relative argument as well. If you have your computer on, say, 6 hours a day vs 16 normally the argument can sway.

 

[Bobthelost]

My vote is for turning it off, but i leave my machine on 24/7 for bit torrent.

 

[alimoalem]

i pesonally don't turn it off but my vote is for turning it off. your rig is overclocked. plus, you save money

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: John
This topic has been debated heavily over the years, and IMHO the only negative aspect of leaving a rig on 24/7 is that it makes your monthly electric bill about $20-30 (depending on your rate) more.

I fully agree with John on this matter. It really is a matter of individual choice. I leave mine on for several days when I am home - a lot of updates and maintenance is done while I am catching Z's.

The unnecessary waste of energy is becoming more significant, costwise, and environmentally. If everyone left their machines on 24/7, we would be consuming a lot more juice than we are now - and that can translate into oil consumption in some areas, and reflect in what you pay at the pump down the road.

 

[evilsaint]

You can always rationalize leaving your rig on 24/7 by telling yourself that you're just letting the Arctic Silver properly burn-in

 

[pkme2]

It gets warm in the summer and especially when the humidity is high, it can be uncomfortable.
I wouldn't recommend it for home/office use, but its your choice. Don't fret the electric bill if its business expense, but don't waste it.
The fuel bill is already too high on electricity.

 

[RebateMonger]

There's only ONE correct answer to this question.

Unfortunately, nobody knows what that answer is.

 

[stardrek]

For any solid state components it doesn't really matter. For the mechanical parts (e.g. hard drive) there is an estimated MTBF (mean time before failure). The chance of the hard drive dying isn't all that high, but leaving it on all the time does bring it closer to that MTBF. Not saying that it will die when it hits MTBF but that is the estimated average that the hard drive maker gives it, and I would think they know a thing or two about the equipment they make. All that being said I leave my stuff on 24/7, and have suffered only 3 failed hard drives over the past 10 years, out of about 15 or 16 drives.

 

[imported_Imp]

I always hear talk of 'prolonging' the life of components, but how long do you want to keep them for? I've always turned my systems off when not in use and they've never dropped dead on me after they break the 2-3 year mark, which is somewhat disconcerting since their death is initiative to upgrade. I'm guessing most of you with super high end parts replace them before the warranty's even up so in the end, it all goes down to preference. With that in mind, it pisses me off that offices keep PCs powered on 24/7/365 and then tell people to "conserve" energy (bla bla updates).

 

[HO]

Originally posted by: stardrek
For the mechanical parts (e.g. hard drive) there is an estimated MTBF (mean time before failure). The chance of the hard drive dying isn't all that high, but leaving it on all the time does bring it closer to that MTBF.

Hard drives are also rated in start/stop cycles. Turning them on and off takes its toll as well.

 

[Talcite]

As stardrek said, solid state components are in no danger really.. The computer should go obsolote before it breaks. However, the PSU and hard drives should be a factor. Hard drives should be set to hibernate when not in use. They do have a MTBF. PSUs as well, I'm guessing it's the fan that is the rated one. However, if you look at high end ones from zippy/emac, or delta, they are rated for MTBF.

Also, make sure you have surge protection and UPS to handle brownouts. That's pretty important. That'll fry your computer for sure if you get a surge and it's on without protection.

 

[JEDIYoda]

However, the PSU and hard drives should be a factor. Hard drives should be set to hibernate when not in use.

Um link please?

Correct me if I am wrong.....but there is little truth in that statement..

 

[SSNSeawolf]

I would keep it on all the time. Hard drives typically (last I checked), have a 40,000 on/off life. Every time you power her up and power her down that's -1. Same thing with hibernation. I doubt it matters much, but if I turned my computer off every night I'd reach 40,000 spin cycles quite a bit quicker than the 1,000,000 hour 24/7 MTBF.

 

[sniperruff]

screw the computer. conserve electricity. turning mine off every time i know i won't use it for hours. it's been working 4 years no prob.

"I would keep it on all the time. Hard drives typically (last I checked), have a 40,000 on/off life. Every time you power her up and power her down that's -1."

lets say i turn it off 4 times a day

that means my HD will not die from this reason for 10000 days.

10000 days = more than 27 years

 

[Quinton McLeod]

Why worry about your HD when not shutting off your PC?
I for one, leave all my computers on 24/7. My electric bill is only 110 a month (and that house is all electric [No gas, thank God.]). Not only that, but the OS supports power saving mode. It'll cut off the HD after a certain amount of hours or shut down the monitor and etc. This prolongs the life of all my PCs. My current PC (which is now a server of mine) has been on 24/7 for 4 years and I haven't received a single problem from it.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: pkme2
It gets warm in the summer and especially when the humidity is high, it can be uncomfortable.
I wouldn't recommend it for home/office use, but its your choice. Don't fret the electric bill if its business expense, but don't waste it.
The fuel bill is already too high on electricity.

Humidity doesn't make a computer or any other inanimate object uncomfortable.

 

[Makaveli]

For overclocked computers RMClock is your friend.

Just lower your clocks when cpu is idle power consumption goes down.

I usually leave the computer on 24/7 but at 3-4 days at a time then shut down.

usually if i'm at work and downloading ******, or to RDP to home.

my current Overclock is 2.8
I down clock to 2Ghz when its idling. Gonna try dropping it more after testing.

 

[imported_rod]

Turning it off will lengthen it's life, but it'll probably be out-of-date before it dies anyway.

Personally, I turn it on the first time i use it each day, and leave it on until i go to bed. I tend to go back to using it at least a few times each day, and it's running Seti@Home most of the time, so I don't really care that it's on. But I know I'm not gonna use it overnight, and I don't really want to increase the electricity bill just for S@H.

RoD

 

[piroroadkill]

I personally leave 4 machines on every single minute of the day. ****** yeah it consumes a bunch of power, and makes my room noticeably hot.

But I'm crazy like that and I can't imagine doing it any other way.

 

[Tarrant64]

Originally posted by: piroroadkill
I personally leave 4 machines on every single minute of the day. ****** yeah it consumes a bunch of power, and makes my room noticeably hot.

But I'm crazy like that and I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Same here.

 

[dguy6789]

Turning it off would probably increase the lifespan of the computer, but not by anything that really matters. A computer should be able to be on 24/7 for 5+ years without a problem, that seems like enough time to get a new computer anyway. I usually leave my pc on, but I turn it off if no one is going to use it for a while.