My husband says it cheaper to let the computer
run all the time than to shut it down and reboot
it when you need it. He says it takes more electricity to boot it up than it does if you just
leave it running. Is that true?
2007-09-26 10:37:21 · 9 answers · asked by Jazzy Lady 5 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
its not about the electricity, its about the motherboard. it IS bad for the computer to turn it off and on. the power usage is minimal. you might use $10 worth of electricity a month leaving it on all of the time. every time you turn it off and turn it on, you shorten its life span. we still have our other computer that we got in 2002 and it works fine. its just old. it stays on all of the time. i just always turn off the modem (cable box) when i am not using the computer.
2007-09-26 10:42:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
As a computer IT I get this issue a lot. From both sides of the fence, as it is a personal preference and not a harware issue, there is no real basis behind the whole assumption behind power usage.
The system requires a small additional surge the moment it turns on but that is overall minimal and like running the system for an addition 10seconds. Leaving it on all the time however poses a few issues and it is often wiser to shut the system down the system fully to eliminate the risk of having a memory problem if something doesn't clear from memory properly leaving areas unusable till the system is shut down fully. As for hardware, you do not shorten the life span of a system by turning it on and off all the time. I do this to my systems at home and have had one machine for well over 5 years with no issues to hardware or life span. That is a commonly misguided thought on most users parts.
2007-09-26 17:50:39 · answer #2 · answered by shardae_lin 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No- the computer will use electricity constantly if the computer is on. The amount of electricity is minimal but there is no problem with turning the computer off when you are finished with it, and starting it up only when you need it. I am using a Compaq from 1998 and it has never been left on for an extended period of time. I turn it off when I am finished using it, each and every time. Still going strong after 9 years of almost daily use. Hope this helps and I hope you bet him dinner at a fine restaurant.
2007-09-26 17:44:02 · answer #3 · answered by Helpdeskpilot 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have no idea.
But a way I do know for sure that decreases amount of electricity usage and doesn't require turning off the computer to turn it on is to put it into hibernate (or standby but requires more electricity) mode. It is almost like turning it off and turning it back on takes only a few seconds.
To hibernate, when you are in the screen with the 3 buttons that say: "Stand By", "Shut Down", and "Restart", press and hold shift. The "Stand By" button will change to a hibernate - click on it.
2007-09-26 17:45:42 · answer #4 · answered by William H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even if this were mathematically accurate, I would question how much your time is worth and whether or not you have a viable reason to turn off the machine at all. A reboot is extremely important for home users at least every 72 hours. This is recommended at least once every 24 hours for workstations in corporate, managed environments.
I hope this (in some round about way) addressed your initial concern.
2007-09-26 18:05:59 · answer #5 · answered by ~Orco~ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
PFFFT just leave it on in sleep mode or hibernate, that uses minimal electricity..... I think it also depends on what kind of computer you have and it's perfromance.
For ex: my computer turns on in 1 minute and doesn't make loud noises and stuff like my old comptuer used to do which took 30 minutes to turn on, if you have a crappy slow computer chances are you should jsut leave it on.
I'd say put it in sleep/hibernate though....
2007-09-26 17:42:36 · answer #6 · answered by FenderGuy2112 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is true that when a device just being turn on, more electricity is needed. but it still doesnt make sense that overally that its going to save money. what he does may damage the computer.
2007-09-26 17:48:13 · answer #7 · answered by Sickxually Inactive 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it is not. It does not hurt to leave your computer on all day if that is what you are asking, because it can be hard on your computer to constantly turn it on and off. But you can turn it on when you are getting ready to do something on it and leave it on for the day and then turn it off when you are ready to hit the sack.
2007-09-26 17:45:44 · answer #8 · answered by Belgariad 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Pat him on the back. He's right.
Just don't let it go to his head. lol
2007-09-26 21:58:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋