Computer On or Off???

Published on June 22, 2007 By RoseNell In WinCustomize Talk

I was wondering how you keep your computers when you are not using them.
I have heard it is better to leave your computer running all the time and then I have heard the opposite... Turn it off when not in use.. Or leave them on.. I have a friend and she never turns her computer off. Inquiring Minds want to know.. Thanks

Comments (Page 3)

unclerob

on Jun 26, 2007

As per Chris Null's article, he spoke with the "good folks at Seagate" about harddrive wear & tear and ...

apparently starting and stopping is not a huge problem with harddrives any more, and they can be safely shut off and on in order to save power. According to Seagate, you can expect a drive to last for three to five years of running time before dying, though obviously many drives last longer. What's the big factor that causes drives to die early? Heat, says Seagate. Ensuring your computer stays cool through the proper use of fans is far and away the best thing you can do to keep your drive healthy. I'd imagine that shutting it down when not in use will only help. Naturally, shutting down your computer will also conserve electricity, so unless there's a compelling reason to leave it on (as with a server), you should probably shut down at night.

- mind you a different point of view might interpret Seagate saying this so that you do shut down your pc more often & incur additional wear & tear on your harddrive causing it to fail earlier and forcing you to purchase a new drive.

The more electricity you use the more pollution you cause, as alot of the electricity that we make use of is created by burning fossil fuels which adds more pollutants to our air and contributes to the increase of greenhouse gases. Be power smart, turn off devices when they're not in use and save money on your electric bill and save the environment at the same time. The environment you save today will be the same one your kids will live with & enjoy in the future.

tjesterb

on Jun 26, 2007

I leave mine on pretty much all the time.
I know there are different viewpoints, but my experience has been that most PCs I have to fix due to hardware failure, the first words out of the users' mouth is: "I don't know how this could happen, I turn it off whenever I'm not using it." The ones that get left on full time last much longer.
Whatever little bit it runs up the electric bill is usually cheaper than the hardware recovery.
My only exception to this rule is notebooks. They generate so much heat their hardware failure point usually comes much sooner than on a desktop.

Jafo

on Jun 26, 2007

One original argument against cycling power-on/off was referred to as 'fretting'.

Cycling hot/cold components can cause expansion/contraction in connectors eg PCI and IDE causing them to 'work' or 'fret' loose, ultimately causing contact failure.

Lord knows what anal-retentive actually sat there demonstrating/proving the issue....but it just 'may' be valid....

pjdark

on Jun 26, 2007

what starkers said.

on Jun 27, 2007

Chip creep were an old issue. I think it got resolved a while ago too.

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