Is it better to leave your pc running all the time????

Question

I was told its like a ligh or a tv, it takes more energy to keep turnin it on and off, i usually dont like leavin it on all the time, am i right or wrong????

Answer 1

simply put, leaving it on all the time doesn't cause that much of an energy bill. i leave mine on all the time with the following considerations:

1) running start-up code often generates errors as your CPU sometimes skips lines of instruction. over time these errors build up causing you to run slower. basically, starting your computer up all the time is bad for software over time.

2) running start-up ALWAYS generates a minor surge of electricity to the components just like a light-bulb. over time start-up can cause the physical condition of your system to degrade (if you start up alot)

3) you should use compressed air to clean out the inside of your computer from time to time regardless of whether you leave it on or not.

4) you will still have to restart the computer every so often in order to refresh the RAM and other memory/caches etc. how often is determined by your computer anyway.

5) you can burn out your monitor if you're not careful. always be sure you have a screen saver that will still turn on in a reasonable amount of time (five mins?) or turn off your monitor. i always turn OFF the power save settings so that my computer doesn't go to sleep. this is for the same reason as 1 and 2. still doesn't use much energy even with the power save functions turned off.

6) your components are made to run for a long time. the CPU fan and whatnot RARELY break because of extended running. i've built ten computers. all of them run pretty much 24/7 and none of them has lost a fan/power supply/etc from this behavior. if they do they're reasonably cheap and easy to replace and you'll know right away.

Answer 2

Peter, I would suggest that you power down your system when you're not using it (pwrdwnsys for all you AS/400 geeks out there) for the following reasons:

(a) PCs consume electricity, so whether you're using it or not, you're contributing to CO2 emissions whilst it's switched on.
(b) PC components are measured in terms of Mean Time Between Failures - in other words, each component has a shelf life which if exceeded will cause it to fail.
(c) If you leave your PC on unattended, you're potentially vulnerable to hackers if you're attached to a network such as the internet. The longer you remain connected and idle, the greater the risk.
(d) There are environmental factors such as lightning storms etc which PC's don't like and if you leave a wireless connection on during a thunder storm you could just come home to a nasty surprise.
(e) The amount of time it takes to switch on your PC is a relatively small time to wait. If it really bothers you that much, put it into standby mode whilst you're away from it and intending to return.

If everybody remembered to switch off their PC's we would consume a lot less energy and contribute a lot less CO2 to the atmosphere and that would be a very good thing indeed......

Major companies are already writing strategies of how to reduce the power consumption of their servers into their IT infrastructure objectives because in some parts of the world, planning permission for new data-centres is being turned down because the amount of electricity consumed by a corporate datacentre simply cannot be added to the electricity grid in that location. Think about that the next time you walk away from an office PC left on over a weekend. PC's consume vast quantities of the worlds resources in both their production and their operation.

Answer 3

If you are going to use it at regular intervals through the day its best to leave it switched on rather than switching it on and off all the time. The electricity surges are not good for the pc and wear out the components faster. Use the standby function to put it into low power mode to save on electricity. I usually turn mine on in a morning, and off last thing at night.

Answer 4

The stress caused by the power-on current surge is much greater than the stress caused by leaving the system on for long periods. For this reason, the usual recommendation is to leave the computer on unless you won't be using it for a long time, or there is some specific source of voltage surges that you need to avoid exposing the system to. (PC) component failure is more likely at the power-on stage than at any other time therefore in order to minimise the risk of this leave your PC on all the time.

Answer 5

NO it is definatly NOT a good idea to leave your computer on all the time
A.it is a waste of eletricity
B.it wares out all the hardware as it becomes to hot a cpu fan can only cool it dowm to an extent it still gets really hot
C.it gathers dust way faster
D.if left online permanantly you are a very easy target tou hackers
OH AND IF YOU DO LEAVE IT ON REMEMBER TO YOUR MONITOR OFF

Answer 6

Its just fine to leave your computer on all the time. Leaving it on is easier on the componets; because turning it on and off all the time straines the computer cause it sends a surge of power through the computer to wake every thing up. So just leave it on unless your not going to use it for awhile and it also uses less power to leave it on.
Oh and its also better to leave your monitor on to if you want it to last longer if nesciary set the monitor to shut down when not in use for longer than an hour.

Answer 7

Off and On both have their Pro's and Con's. I always shut mine down at night when I'm through for the evening... You could wear out the CPU Fan and the Power Pack, I usually leave it on all day though, that's fine.

Answer 8

When a running PC is not in use, it cycles down and uses much less electricity, less than a light bulb.

I leave mine running 24x7, and I've had it for 2 years. Never had a problem.

Answer 9

A Croatian man got a nasty surprise when he tried to get out of his deck chair and found his testicles had got stuck.

Mario Visnjic had gone swimming naked in the sea at the Valalta beach in western Croatia, reports 24sata.

His testicles had shrunk while in the cool sea and slipped through the wooden slats when he sat back down on his wooden deckchair.

But as he lay in the sun they expanded back to normal size and got stuck between the slats.

He was eventually freed after he called beach maintenance services on his mobile phone and they sent a member of staff to cut the deck chair in half.

Answer 10

usually, when you're going to apply it some situations in the course of the day, it really is brilliant to leave it on till you flow to mattress at nighttime.it is once you could turn off the computer - utilising the on-reveal 'turn Off' command on a computing gadget or 'close Down' on a Mac. it may damage the computer once you in ordinary words press the button on your not ordinary force to teach off your computer because it forces even with classes are operating to right now close with out 'ending' correct. in case you realize you're in ordinary words going to like it some times in the course of the day, you could inspect the 'Sleep' settings on your computer. in case you worry about saving power, you could replace the sleep settings contained in the administration Panel on a computing gadget (equipment Prefs. on a Mac) so as that the not ordinary disks & reveal turn off after as low as 3 min. of state of no interest or as a lot as 5 hours! both way, you could continuously turn off your computer at nighttime; it helps keep the computer refreshed and is shown to diminish the possibility of freeze-ups, crashes, blunders, etc.