Is it good to either turn off your computer at night or keep it running all night?

Answer 1

This is one of those questions where there is no single right answer. In other words, it depends on how you use your computer.

There are at least three situations that force you to leave your computer on 24 hours a day:

You are on a network, and the network administrators back up files and/or upgrade software over the network at night. If that is the case, and you want your machine backed up or upgraded, then you need to leave it on all the time.

You are using your machine as some sort of server. For example, HowStuffWorks has a machine that creates the images for the How Webcams Work article. It needs to be on 24 hours a day. If your machine acts as a file server, print server, Web server, etc., on a LAN (local area network) or the Internet, then you need to leave it on all the time.

If you are running something like SETI@home and you want to produce as many result sets as possible, you need to leave your machine on all the time.
If you do not fall into any of these categories, then you have a choice about whether or not to leave your machine on.
One reason why you might want to turn it off is economic. A typical PC consumes something like 300 watts. Let's assume that you use your PC for four hours every day, so the other 20 hours it is on would be wasted energy. If electricity costs 10 cents per kilowatt-hour in your area, then that 20 hours represents 60 cents a day. Sixty cents a day adds up to $219 per year.

It's possible to use the energy-saving features build into modern machines and cut that figure in half. For example, you can have the monitor and hard disk power down automatically when not in use. You'll still be wasting $100 per year.

The argument for leaving your computer on all the time is that turning it on and off somehow stresses the computer's components. For example, when the CPU chip is running, it can get quite hot, and when you turn the machine off it cools back down. The expansion and contraction from the heat probably has some effect on the solder joints holding the chip in place, and on the micro-fine details on the chip itself. But here are three ways to look at that:

If it were a significant problem, then machines would be failing all the time. In fact, hardware is very reliable (software is a whole different story, and there is a lot to be said for rebooting every day).
I don't know a single person who leaves the TV on 24 hours a day. TVs contain many of the same components that computers do. TVs certainly have no problems being cycled on and off.
Most vendors will sell you a three-year full-replacement warrantee for about $150. If you are worried about it, spend some of the money you are saving by turning your machine off and buy a service contract. Over three years, you come out way ahead!

Answer 2

With a PC turning your computer off at night is better then leaving it on, cause your memory is limited. When a program opens up windows allocates a certin amount of memory for that program in case you want to open it up again. If you leave your computer on that memory will still be saved, and the longer it is on and the more you run different programs the less memory and slower your computer will go. Also it adds more stress to your processor can can cause heating issues and slow the processor speed down. So I would advise turning your computer off. The only thing that is affected when your computer is off is the lithium batter that keeps the CMOS going. That can be changed, but they tend to have a 5 year life spand. Most of the time they can last 10-20 years with out having to be changed. Take a 386 computer and turn it on, everything will still be the same, that is cause the computer is not dead. the battery is still good, and all the information is good. Running also keeps the hard drive moving and working, that could cause complications in the future. The normal tempature of a computer is best if kept in between 70-80 degress.

Answer 3

I have worked at commercial places that kept all the machines running 24/7: all the tape decks, monitors, computers, everything. Nothing was ever turned off. Ever. There is an obscure hazard to doing this, however. At another place I was, the computers were left on all the time. One night before a long weekend the owner of the place came back to the computer room after everyone had left and saw a machine running, as it had been for a year or so. He turned it off. The next workday when it was turned back on again, it made a loud grinding noise and smoke started pouring out. What had happened was that one of the fans for the power supply had burned out because it was stuck tight with solidified gummed-up dirt. This had not been a problem when the machine was left on and constantly running because the dirt was kept warm and soft and the fan kept turning. After the machine was turned off the gummy dirt cooled and hardened into a mass like cement, locking the fan so it could not turn when the power was restored. It burned out.

I would guess the answer has to be one of consistency. Either turn the machine off every night or never turn it off, but don't do both. You are liable to burn something out. We have left machines on forever and never had a problem, and I have turned mine off every night and never had a problem. So whatever floats your boat should be just fine.

Answer 4

Hi I turn mine off. Besides some things mentioned already like letting the computer rest, viruses and the electric bill. What if something happens like an electrical problem or outage. If the computer gets slammed off improperly it's not good for it. It seems to me that turning the computer off the right way is just normal use of using a computer. Just my feelings on the matter :)

Answer 5

If you have a Windows program with standby mode that is best. Other than that, leave it running. Every time you turn a computer on that has been turned off it sends an initial shock through the computer which can be harmful to the circuitry if done too many times.

Answer 6

The US Department of Energy recommends that you turn your PC off. Primarily to save energy and since turning the PC off (every night) will not harm the PC in any way.

If your on a high-bandwidth Internet connection, then you have an additional reason to switch off your PC. I would be concerned about having my PC up all night inviting break-in attempts from over the Internet.

Answer 7

I put mine in "Stand By" mode.. it is still running but turns the fan off, it keeps open programs open in the background and has a mandatory password reentry procedure after shaking the mouse to wake it back up from it's snooze.. works for me :) Probably saves energy as well.
So my answer for the question is... none of the above.. give that a try :)

Answer 8

I have heard both sides to the argument. I turn mine off. In that case, if there are any problems it will show up on startup and you can catch it when it happens before it is too late.

Do you leave your car running all night?

Answer 9

Turn it off about once in a week. To save power turn off your monitor every night.

Answer 10

I will tell you two things. Where I work we are not allowed to turn off our computers we just log off and turn the power off on the monitor. The same with Time Warner Cable. They told my friend not to turn off the computer but to log off and that is it.