Leaving your computer on 24/7 --> Good idea or bad idea. Advice needed!

[nanyangview]

I leave my system on 24/7 and it has good ventilatio and cooling for all the components and my HDDs runs only at around 25C. So is it good to leave ur system on running 24/7 or u should shut it down at night?

Expert/Pro/Any Advice and experience welcome!
Thanks guys

 

[Whitecloak]

I run my machine 24/7 in my bedroom. I use the power management option to standby my monitor & other things after 5 minutes. The negatives for me are the heat it generates , the blinking lights & the noise.

 

[Bovinicus]

It really isn't bad for the system, especially if you have it suspend after a certain perioud of time. Suspend actually turns off a good number of components in your system. All that really has to be done is leave the memory on so that the information in it is not lost and the same screen returns that was there when you left. Hibernating is an interesting alternative. It saves a copy of what's in your memory to your harddrive. That way, the next time your turn on your computer it will load that copy back into memory and you will be right where you were when you turned off the computer. I don't even have mine suspend after going away and I have no problems leaving it on 24/7.

 

[John]

Please check this thread

 

[hinet]

I also leave my computer on all day long. Even though the system runs quite hot, it still is stable, so I guess its ok. I don't sleep in the room where my computer is either, so the noise doesn't bother me

 

[Markfw]

My advice is that if you are running Seti, or have a reason to run some software 24/7 and can afford the electric bil, and the maintenance, then leave it on. But if you don't need to run it more than a few hours a day, you are better off turning it off. IMO the fans and drive motors can use the rest. Plus it doesn't draw so much dust in that way, and you don;t have to clean out the case as often.

 

[nanyangview]

thanks alot guys for ya advice!

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
My advice is that if you are running Seti, or have a reason to run some software 24/7 and can afford the electric bil, and the maintenance, then leave it on. But if you don't need to run it more than a few hours a day, you are better off turning it off. IMO the fans and drive motors can use the rest. Plus it doesn't draw so much dust in that way, and you don;t have to clean out the case as often.

When at idle, your system uses less power than a light bulb. Also, your computer goes through more strain starting up than it does when idleing (sp?), so turing your system off and on more often is actually more harmful.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
My advice is that if you are running Seti, or have a reason to run some software 24/7 and can afford the electric bil, and the maintenance, then leave it on. But if you don't need to run it more than a few hours a day, you are better off turning it off. IMO the fans and drive motors can use the rest. Plus it doesn't draw so much dust in that way, and you don;t have to clean out the case as often.

Maintenance???

Spinning up and down a HDD coupled with thermal expansion and contraction causes far more stress to a computer's parts than simply leaving it on. I have 6 year old computers I've given to family and friends that are still going strong today, and they were left on 24/7 for all the time I owned them. I've also NEVER had a HDD fail on me.

And an idle computer with the monitor turning off automatically uses less electricity than a 100W light bulb. Hell, my landscape lighting uses a hell of a lot more electricity than my idle computer.

 

[Mem]

Hmmm I don`t think it matters,both have there good and bad points,I`ve been turning my PC off every day since 1994 and have yet to have one die,so turn it off to save electricity and have no noise,leave it on if you are doing RC5 etc for AT or prefer to reduce wear and tear,no right or wrong in this case.

 

[MWink]

I leave my laptop on 24/7. Old habits are hard to break.

IMO, it doesn't really matter. I've done it both ways (on 24/7, and turning it off at night). I never had problems with hardware failure either way. If you want to leave it on 24/7, then do it. If you want to turn it off at night, then do that. I doubt there will be any noticable difference either way.

 

[Confused]

I leave mine on for a few reasons:

Seti
ECCp
Web server
Email server
Public SetiQueue
KaZaA
FTP server
Music
TV
Being able to think of something while i'm laying in bed and be able to get up and do/look at it instantly (emails, a program i'm writing, TV guide) without needing to wait for the computer to boot up
I can't sleep without the whirring


And, no, the last one isn't a joke. I actually find it soothing having the computer whirring away in the background. I have the monitor set to power down after 15 mins and everything else to stay on (it really harms your Seti time if the hdd turns off!)


Confused

 

[corkyg]

It has recently been calculated that leaving the average PC on 24/7/365 will cost about $167 a year just on electricity. If everyone did it - that's a lot of loot - I may have to get some more electric utility stock.

Leaving a machine on here in Southern Arizona 24/7 is risky business this time of year. We have frequent late afternoon thunderstorms and lightning strikes are all over. When those bumpers start booming, I not only power down, but I pull the plug.

I have been places where it was safe to leave a machine on - I know a lot of people do it, and I have done it (with a good UPS connected) - but I have never found any tangible benefit in 22 years of experience.

I would at least turn off the monitor. Leaving a LCD on is not good - they have a finite backlight life.

 

[dullard]

Most people talk without having any knowledge.

There is a balance. Starting/stopping causes wear and tear on the parts. Leaving it on causes wear and tear on the parts. So there must be some place in between that is the least harmful. Do you leave your car running 24/7 just because the startup causes wear and tear? Of course not.

I admit that I don't have any recent data, but one study was done almost 10 years ago. There were two computer labs with several dozen computers each. On lab had strict instructions to start and stop the computers, while the other had instructions to leave them running as much as possible. Their conclusion: if you are leaving the computer unused for more than an hour, you get fewer broken parts if you turn it off completely. If you are leaving the computer unused for less than an hour you get fewer failures by leaving the computers on.

Of course there are circumstantial reasons to do whatever you want. Here are some:
1) People run servers, or do calculations that need the computer to stay on.
2) Win 95 and Win 98 have memory leaks that lead to significant slow downs if they aren't rebooted at least once a week.
3) Some programs have intensive startup times that makes startup a pain.
4) Some components were designed to be on all the time (SCSI hard drives) and some were designed for significant downtime (IDE hard drives).

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: corky-g
It has recently been calculated that leaving the average PC on 24/7/365 will cost about $167 a year just on electricity. If everyone did it - that's a lot of loot - I may have to get some more electric utility stock.

That HAS to be with the monitor in screen saver mode. There is no way in hell a computer with the monitor set to turn off automatically costs that much to leave running. If that's the case, your front door light costs more to leave on, and we all know that's not true.

 

[MWink]

It has recently been calculated that leaving the average PC on 24/7/365 will cost about $167 a year just on electricity. If everyone did it - that's a lot of loot - I may have to get some more electric utility stock.

According to the calculations I just did it does cost $170 per YEAR to run a PC and monitor at full power all the time. You do have to remember that you are using it some of the time and if you're smart you at least have the monitor power down when not in use. That makes it less money wasted. According to the rough calculations I did last night, I only wasted $40 per year when the PC was not in use (it was doing a D.net project at the time).

I admit that I don't have any recent data, but one study was done almost 10 years ago.

I stopped reading after that line (well at least I SHOULD have). I doubt that data still applies to todays hardware. Todays hardware should last longer than you will need it whether you turn it off or leave it on.

BTW, either way I recommend you have the monitor/LCD shut off after a certain amount of time.

 

[dnoyeb]

The moving parts will eventually fail. I have replaced the powersupply fan twice. Once per year on average. As long as the HD and CDROMs stop spinning, you should be safe.

 

[dbrown39]

All electronic computer parts have a mean time to failure. When the computer is on the clock is counting down to failure and when it's off the clock stops. Thermal expansion and contraction are included in this time frame I agree but I shut mine off at night every day.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: dnoyeb
The moving parts will eventually fail. I have replaced the powersupply fan twice. Once per year on average. As long as the HD and CDROMs stop spinning, you should be safe.

You either have a cheap powersupply, or there is something else wrong.

All electronic computer parts have a mean time to failure. When the computer is on the clock is counting down to failure and when it's off the clock stops. Thermal expansion and contraction are included in this time frame I agree but I shut mine off at night every day.

And for every part I can think of in a computer, that time is at least a decade of continuous use.

No way in hell are you going to wear out your computer before you get rid of it. The longest I've ever had a computer is 3 years. Right now, 4 year old computers are horribly outdated.

I'd like to repeat my previous point that I've been leaving my computers on 24/7 for over a decade. I've never had a part, ANY part, fail on me. Nor has any part I've handed down to family or friends failed.