Should a computer be left on all the time?

Answer 1

No. It is a waste of energy and could be a fire hazard

Answer 2

Yes and No. It depends on what your needs are. It also depends how reliable your hardware is.

I have 4 computers on my network and quite honestly I would not feel comfortable leaving any of them turned on 24/7 - especially while I'm asleep.
One has a fan on it's GFx card that used to be very noisy - I greased it up but I am aware that sometimes grease can catch alight..

My main PC, well to be honest has no dodgy hardware but I can't leave it on without my ICS host being turned on. My ICS host is using old hardware that was given to me. While I've been using it for ages I still don't know it well enough to leave it turned on all day and thus my main PC is turned off when the ICS host is off because it cannot connect to the web.

Generally most PC's built from decent parts can be left on for a long time with little or no risk. However most PSU's these days are capable of supplying 400W which is a massive amount on the electric bill if they are cranked right up to the max.

Many proper servers are fanless so they can stay on all year. PC based servers rely on fans which can (and do) eventually wear out after many hours of usage. If you intend to keep a normal PC turned on continually make sure the fans are properly maintained/greased. Make sure to use something which is not flammable.

Obviously if you don't need to leave it turned on all the time I would recommend shutting it down when not in use. Most PC's are capable of being left on for long amounts of time these days. I would not say they are 'designed' for this, but can cope with it. My friend leaves his XP machine turned on for entire months at a time. I beleive the maximum he left it on for was something like 3 months - and that was just for normal home use - Not as a server or anything important.

J

Answer 3

Hopefully you are doing virus checks and spyware checks, after finding and removing anything more than 20 spyware threats, you should restart your computer. As for turning it off at night, hey if you can afford the bill of leaving it on, go for it. If you are not going to be on the computer for a day or more, say your going out of town for the weekend, unplug it completely from the wall. Shutting down your computer does not hurt it, as long as you do it properly. It was once thought otherwise, but has been disproved many times over. Also, if your going to leave it on, make sure you have a active screen saver.

Answer 4

All electrical circuits suffer and are eventually damaged by heat expansion, when a motherboard is powered up it expands, when it cools it shrinks. If you were tuning your PC on and off more than a few times a day i would say yes you are doing damage. Two years ago i built two exact PCs, one to use as a server (on all the time) and one to build my sites (switched of much more because of new programs being installed and turned of most nights) the server has had no problems, however the other PC has had a faulty power supply and two CPU fans. Hope this helps .......ps when a monitor powers up it uses a massive amount off powered which Serge's through and puts a strain on the components so on and off will shorten the life of your monitor

Answer 5

Yes, desktops should be left on all the time. This prolong the processor's life. When you switch on the comp (cold boot) the components experirence at first a huge surge for a brief period of time and then the electricity falls down to normal. This happening many times has the potential of damaging components.

The comp should be able to go onto energy saving mode so as not to over-work the harddisks, etc. But if your power supply is unreliable, such as mine, it is better to switch off your comp so as to avoid damage to components and software due to black outs especially when you are not around.

Answer 6

If you want. let me use an analogy for what happens to a computer's microscopic circuitry when you turn it on...It's like a garden hose when you turn the water on, it twitches and changes shape slightly, and they say that this process can reduce the lifespan of the static parts of your computer. On the other hand, mechanical parts like hard drives and fans are worse for being left on, as they just keep racking up mileage on the clock.

So you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. It comes down to do you want to save the electricity, or download porn all night ;-)

Answer 7

It doesn't matter either way - servers that sit in between your home PC and the internet are on 24/7.

Nunoyvgvna Awi - your a webby not a tecchy - leave those answers to the big boys ;o)

There is a ring of truth that as long as your fans/water cooling units are running correctly there should be no problem at all.

If you find something goes "pop" there will be no problems as long as you have the correct mains breakers in place such as a 4way adapter with circuit breaker or UPS with breaker built in.

Answer 8

Why leave it on? What purpose does this serve, other than waste electricity?

I'm making the assumption that you're connected to the Internet by cable/DSL. Leaving your computer on would mean you could have your Windows, anti-virus/and-spam, anti-everything automatically updated. Unfortunately for you, some updates require a restart to take effect. Never restarting would mean that you remain vulnerable. Don't be lazy. Turn it off.

Answer 9

I see this question all the time and I'm getting tired of it. It dosen't really matter. Technically yes, if you have a computer on all the time it will wear down more then if it is off at night and on in day. However, The depreciation of the hardware over time is so great by the time anything happens with it you won't care. Computers are designed to be left on all the time with the exception of laptops. However you can use a flat panel cooler on the bottom of your notebook so that it could be used all the time.

Answer 10

no, thats an old wives tale from the first yrs of virus's. it was safer then to leave the computer running as turning it off is what activated the virus.

those days are gone now, a virus can activate the second it gets in your machine or next yr, it depends on how its set.

to leave your machine on all the time will shorten its life span. its just an electronical item and those all have a usage hour rating. its why tv's quit working after a certain time, etc.

would you leave your tv or stereo on non stop? of course not...so why the computer?

PS - after reading other answers its clear few have a real clue on what is proper for a computer. one guy saying they are designed to stay on all the time....what a crock!!

Answer 11

If you are going to leave it on, it could be doing something useful while you are asleep. Stanford Uni in the states has an ongoing online scientific experiment about analysing Protein Folding. This is where proteins fold to do their job in our bodies. If they fold incorrectly it leads to genetic diseases. It is a very intensive processor and number crunching operation. If you sign up for this they can use your computer power (and millions of others) to calculate the way proteins fold. Google Protein Folding and you can see what Stanford has to say about it.