New SSD Installed

S Ray

Honorable
Jan 29, 2013
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10,530
Three days ago I installed a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB into my desktop. I am happy to report that all is working well. I have done the updates and installed the programs that I intend to. I have installed the software from Samsung and let it set up the drive and ran the benchmark. Mine scored a couple of points (just a couple) above the norm. I have done the recommended tweaks. I still haven't connected the old drive as it still contains windows and I want to be confident that that the new drive will function correctly before I wipe that one.

Now for the kicker. I have spent several hours searching this forum and others, even on the internet and have not been satisfied to find a definite answer to this. Should you shut down this computer at night? What I have been doing is to leave the computer on and log off. I have read that this causes it to idle and it gives the garbage collection the opportunity to work. Could you guys that are knowing in this matter please add your comments.

I just leave it running in the daytime. I use it often, though not for extended periods.

Thanks in advance to any that care to comment. Take care.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Now for the kicker. I have spent several hours searching this forum and others, even on the internet and have not been satisfied to find a definite answer to this. Should you shut down this computer at night? What I have been doing is to leave the computer on and log off. I have read that this causes it to idle and it gives the garbage collection the opportunity to work.

There are differing schools of thought on this.
One camp says to turn it off when not in use. A computer that is off uses no power, can't be hacked, makes no noise, and extends the lifetime of the components.

The other camp counters with the concept that the power-on sequence is when most components fail. More power-on cycles = increased probability of failure. Also, the power draw of an idling PC is minimal - on the level of leaving a lightbulb on.

Personally, the only time my machines are turned off is for maintenance, software updates or hardware replacement. The 4 main machines in the house here (mine, wife's, HTPC, firewall) are all on 24/7. And I've been doing it that way for years.
 
I turn my pc off at night (I also have an ssd), but once a week I just log off and leave it on the logon screen to do the garbage collection. Garbage collection will NOT work if there is any hdd/ssd activity at all. On the logon screen, the ssd will be idle with no activity and the garbage will be "thrown out".

Mark
 
Have:
.. Laptop, 256 Gig Samsung 840 Pro (win 8) + 256 gig Crucial M4 (storage). Also have a 256 gig Samsung 830 w/Win 7 that I can swap for win 8. Used Daily
.. Two laptops with single SSDs.
.. Two Desktops: 1) i5-2500K w/ 2 Samsung 830s and an older i5-750 with 2 Sata II SSDs Plus wife has a Single M4 in her desktop.

Over the past two years, I have NEVER left my systems running over night and Have yet to have a failure. Only had ONE slowdown (boot time went from 10 Sec to 45 Sec - Problem was new software on laptop w/windows 8, removed the offending software and boot time returned. During the day it has some Idle time, on some days as much as as much as 2-3 hours . My wife sometimes leaves her' on for extended time, for example when out of town and she needs to access it.

As Long as trim is enabled not to much of a problem.

Then again, should not be much problem leaving on 24/7 (my work laptop is 24/7). Some SSDs had (think it's been resolved) coming out of Hibernation - But then I've disabled Hibernation on all my systems.

As to the age old question, in general which is best. As USAFRet indicated at power on is when most failures occur - this is primarily a result of the High Inrush current at power on which can be 2 -> 4 times higher than normal. However over the years I have found NO diff in longevity of a system that is powered off at Night verse one that is left on 24/7 . As I indicated my home systems are powered off at night and I have YET to have a system fail - Two of my systems are OLD pentiums that I still use on rare occasions. Most at work, myself included, leave their system on 24/7.

Bottom line here is Flip a coin - If it lands on edge, doesn't matter your unlucky and it will fail either way - LOL Heads leave on 24/7, tails turn off at night Both will last a long time. Personnally I like the Off at Night or when away from the house for over 6 Hours.
 

S Ray

Honorable
Jan 29, 2013
45
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10,530
Lol....So the answer is "There is no answer". Thanks guys, for taking the time and effort. I read you guys posts all the time. It seems as all of you get lots of best answers. I'll sleep on it or play it like it feels. Regards