Should I power down my computer each night?

Question

Should I use standby, hibernate?

I am a law student and I need to make sure my computer is always at peak performance. I have heard that turning it off and on can wear on the machine from some. What do you guys recommend?

None of you are acknowledging the hardware affects of power ups and downs. I can get amateur advice through google

I guess I should add that I have a laptop. Which is why I posted in the laptop forum :).

Answer 1

Rebooting your computer every so often is a good idea as it will free up any memory that is being globbed onto by mis-behaving programs and will flush your caches. Although it is not necessary. More than likely you won't notice a performance improvement unless your computer has been running for weeks. Defragement your hard drive and empty the internet explorer "temporary internet files" on a regular basis. These things will slow your computer down.

I have to say I love the first answer. That is hilarious!

Answer 2

No, there's no reason to power it off every night, except to save a bit on the energy bills.

Older PCs built in the early-to-mid 90s didn't have the most stress-resistant on/off switches. There used to be a concern out there that you could wear the switch on the motherboard down to the point of failure by flipping the PC on and off too much. However, that hasn't been the case as PCs matured and the first Intel Pentium came out.

In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has had this problem with the manufacturing quality these newer motherboards go through. And if it does happen, motherboards are pretty much dirt cheap to replace (in the past, you could be looking at $500 or more to replace one where today it usually costs less than $100).


Bottom line: Hardware "wear" should not be a concern of yours, and I wouldn't bother with hibernate or standby. Those modes suit laptops the best to conserve battery life. For a desktop, they're a waste of time from how long it takes to go in and out of those modes.


_________________
UPDATE
_________________


Dude,
I understand you're frustration with some of these answers, but realize that this is a free online forum and that you're getting what you pay for! LOL.

You might consider showing some appreciation for what you've received here. I rarely pay attention to the name of the forum I'm in, and it never hurts to specify your system specs in your question when asking for technical support on hardware. The more you supply, the better your answers will be. And in this case, I explained that hibernate and standby are useful for laptops to conserve battery life, even though I assumed you had a desktop.

This isn't rocket science, so I'm assuming you understand that the question has been answered...

Answer 3

I have read many articles about this subject, and most pro's come to the conclusion, that it is a personal choice. If you leave it on overnight, turn the monitor off. It only costs , (on average) about $1.00 a day to leave it on, that's including the monitor. You should, however, reboot your computer, once a week. Take the cover off, at least once a year, to clean out the dust, and the fans. If you are going to be away, for the weekend, or more than a day at a time, turn it off. With my own computers, I really don't have a set schedule that I do. If I feel like turning them off, then I do, and I haven't had any problems, in years. Just do, what you feel comfortable with. I hope I answered your question..

Answer 4

It really doesn't make that much difference, by the time your components degrade because of excess heat and wear, you will probably need a new computer anyway. Leaving your notebook on especially if it heats up will degrade electronics, but not aggressively. It can also degrade the battery by constantly charging it. There are more important things to worry about in keeping your computer in "peak performance", like defraging, virus protection, spy ware etc. than whether it is left on or not.

Answer 5

it won't hurt it at all. if it's desktop, you may have to replace the power supply fan after about five years or so, but usually when they get that old, your ready for a new machine anyway. I would turn the monitor off though. Why? That 5 year old monitor will save you on your next purchase if it still works. Especially if it's an lcd.

Answer 6

well i am sending this reply from my note book that i dont rest it ever...its always online..sometimes i give it a rest once a week thats it....and its performance is good....so i guess its ok if u leave it on if u need any program to be operating using internet connection if u want to save ur battery u can use hibernate...its stacks all the programs and shutdowns the computer..so it is useful if u dont use any internet connection in any of those programs

Answer 7

It really makes no difference, some of the computers in my office have been running non stop for 4 years.

Answer 8

i agree with mark s.... hehe rockin on personal exp thought me... something... well after i effed up my 150 gig HDD hahahaah hey you learna s you go so damnit turn the damn comp off cause i use to leave it ona ll night leave music ona dn go to sleep... after a while my back uyp hdd acted up and the comp kept getting stuck..cause the hdd was too damn hot so let the comp rest and cool down a bit ya know:D

Answer 9

Definitely! Computers are like us, they need time to sleep and rest.

Answer 10

make sure u disconnect from the net,add nothing in the files except ur work.