Leaving computer on shortens PSU lifespan?

[Tiberius34]

I built my own computer and most of the time it works great but I have burnt out 3 PSUs and now how an Enermax NoiseTaker 600W. My question is: will leaving my computer on for several days at a time cause my PSU to burn out faster or will it cause more damage to turn on and off my computer each day? The PSU voltage calculator says I only need about 447 Watts, but my dad insists that I am killing my machine by leaving in on all night, so please, do I need to shutdown my computer or can I leave it running?

-Tiberius34

 

[Ruby]

It is not going to damage your computer to turn on and off each day to the extent you may be thinking, and yes, leaving a PSU or anything on for extended periods of time will have a shorter life than something only on for a few hours a day. If your computer is not being used 24/7 for say a personal Web Server or a downloading computer, than it is best to turn it off at night and turn it back on in the morning (or afternoon, or whenever).

 

[INeedCache]

Something is definitely not right somewhere. We generally shut off our business machines only one night per week, and in the last three years we have not had any power supply failures. I'm sure leaving it running most of the time does cut down on the power supply's life, but they shouldn't be dying like yours are. For what it's worth, our power supplies are Antecs and Fortrons.

 

[tenaciousleydead]

leaving it running does not short out the powesupply unless youve had bad luck and they just keep dieing, what does shorten the life of your comp is turning it off though, when the cpu core heats up it expands and when you shut the comp down and it cools off it constricts and overtime your cpu will just crack along with gpu and anything with a core.

 

[rantonrave]

Leaving it on wears fans and capacitors more, but any decent supply should be able to run continuously for at least 3-5 years.

It's highly unlikely your computer needs anything close to 447W but more like 50-70% as much.