is it better to leave your computer on, or shut it down after every use?

Answer 1

shut it down after every use, electricity will be a scarce resource in near future

Answer 2

It is better if you DO NOT shut down your computer after every use because it consume a lot of energy and electricity. Just like any other appliance, turning on and off computers will make its consumption of power higher. This may even lead to computer damage. And besides, computers are used to being turned on the entire day; just look at the computers you find in offices.

Answer 3

Either one is correct for different reasons.

Leaving the computer on all the time reduces the number of times the processor gets hit with start up power spikes, similiar to a car, where there is more wear done to the engine when starting it up then letting it run. However, with long term running the possiblity of overheating.


I guess the best advice would be if you don't plan on using the computer within the next 24 hours, then turn it off. If you plan on using it withing the next 24 hours, then leave it on.

Answer 4

you really only need to shut a computer down after it's been on for a long period of time. and even then, after about 10-20 seconds you can start it right back up again. the shut down will improve speed a tiny bit by freein' up internal memory that was lost form all the programs runnin'. so it's really up to you. shuttin' it down after every use would technically make it last longer, but it would also make it collect dust since the fans inside wouldn't be runnin'.

Answer 5

There are probably as many opinions about this as there are people who will answer. It doesn't hurt the computer to leave it on. Mine goes on early in the morning, and stays on all day. I turn the monitor off, as it actually draws more electricity than the CPU does. All I have to do is turn on the monitor and hit enter and the computer is ready to go. This saves a lot of time and wear and tear on the hard drive, especially if you are on and off several times a day.

Answer 6

Many factors here to answer...

1) Is it laptop or desktop?
2) If laptop, is it on battery?

In general, I like to leave them on... less stress on PC, as the power-up cycle is the most stressful time for the hardware.
Also, I like to have remote access to machines, which requires them to be on (obviously!)...

You can customize the power settings from the control panel to save energy when not in use by shutting down the display and/or harddrive after periods of inactivity without totally turning off the machine.

Answer 7

It's better to shut it down after every use, if you leave it on all the time this could result of the power supply (in the Computer) to burn out, or worst the motherboard (which runs almost everything.) If the motherboard burns out or the power supply, you can replace these. but they aren't cheap either...

Answer 8

It depends on how long until you are going to use it again. I usually put mine on a standby mode if I was going to use it in an hour.