Whats the maximum time u should leave your computer on.?

Question

My old one burned out so i dont want to burn my new one

Answer 1

So long as you have sufficient cooling, you can leave on indefinitely (except of course to reboot if required for system/software updates). Mine thus is rarely turned off, which has been the case for nearly 2yrs.

If not enough cooling, and can't afford to amend that, at least adjust the power settings to send into hibernation at extended periods of inactivity.


EDIT - to those handing out figures of 6-24 hours - how often do you think servers are turned off? They usually chew more juice and higher heat output that you average home PC and they are RARELY turned off except for general system maintenance!

Answer 2

Forever,

Electronics are very stable and if you don't have a failure in 90 days then it should be good for a very long time. What you should do is turn the machine on and let it stay on for 2 weeks (just turn the monitor off when not in use). If the computer fails then it will still be under warrantee and returnable. Otherwise you can be sure that unless you mess around inside the box, or something happens inside you can run that computer as long as you want.

Most companies leave their PCs on forever, especially servers.

What puts the most strain on an electrical system is when the circuits are changed or when the system goes through too many on and off cycles. I actually had a system develop a problem because of the ON--OFF switch, so I like to use a surge protector to turn my machine on and off. If the switch wears out then I can replace it for cheap.

When I plan on leaving the machine for 8 hours or more I turn it off, otherwise it is better to just leave it on. Sometimes, when running a virus scan or making mass downloads I leave the machine on and go to bed with no problems.

However, when I start replacing hardware then I have had failures of the board or other cards. I am a computer user, and a pretty skilled one, but I am not a tech and I am smart enough to know that unless I am just swapping PC cards I take it to a professional. I don't want to switch hardware inside the computer very often and only do it as a last resort.

I know of an old TV set that used tubes (which burn out frequently) that was left on for 20+ years with no problem. The owner simply turned the contrast down to zero each night. Since the load never changed on all the systems after a few hundred hours it could just keep on going. Murphy can still crop up and ruin the electronic device or computer, but it is MORE likely to crop up if you turn it on and off too frequently.

Answer 3

The practical rule is to keep PC towers on all the time, and laptops should not be on for more than 24 hours at a time.

Laptops have overheating problems and they suck dust which eventually clogs the CPU radiator plenums. Since there is such low tolerance for heat related performance, you should re-think the use of a laptop that needs to be on this long. Replace it with a tower , or get a docking station which supplies better power and cooling.

Turning systems on and off usually causes more problems than leaving them on. This is a hardware consideration only. Software is another matter.

Even though you leave the systems on , Operating systems and applications get memory leaks that eventually slow them down to a crawl, so it is best to reboot any system every week. Database servers should be rebooted once every 48 hours.

Answer 4

Mine stays on 24/7; even if you burn out a power supply, you can easily get another one. If your processor goes, then there was something else wrong to start with.

Answer 5

The life of a pc will last longer if you dont turn it off everyday. I leave mine on all the time and reboot when I need to.

Answer 6

I usually leave mine on all the time. if you have a cheep power suply you shouldn't do this. you can leave the computer on as long as you want as long as it has a proper cooling system. but it can be a waste of power to leave it on. you really should turn it off if your going to be gone for more than a day

Answer 7

I haven't turned mine off in 7 months. My power supply will probably be going in a bit, but it wouldn't be the first and it won't be the last. Are you sure that's not just what's wrong with your old one?

Answer 8

hard to say, depends on too many factors. Quality of components, rate of cooling, amount of dust, etc. But if you are not going to use your system, shut it down. Reboot is good for a computer!

Answer 9

90 days -- then reboot.

All *new* computers of the last three years have extensive power save features to power down the monitor and CPU and disk drive to save energy. Leave it on.

Answer 10

I would not leave it on for more than 6-8 hours at a time max, and if you are turn it off and give it a break. Definitely turn it off at night, and when ever you aren't using it.