Age-old question, modern-day responses?

[arrpeegeer]

Well, I know the question of "should I turn off my PC or leave it on all the time?" is about as split still as to whether or not Clemens used steroids. Ok, well...maybe not as one sided .

But I am curious as to how most people feel about that question, especially with Vista's power management options and putting the computer to 'sleep' after 1 hour of non-use.

In reality, minus the driver issues some face with coming back from being asleep, isn't sleep mode the same as powering on and off a machine in terms of stress/wear-and-tear on hardware?

So how many of you use that feature vs. just leave the box on all the time and just power down the monitor after 20 minutes since that is what uses most of the energy anyway?

Note: I think some could argue that today's components are more designed for the on-off scenario and not as flimsy? Also some power down themselves anyway when not in use.

 

[arrpeegeer]

Note: This was my first poll and I'm not sure why it is closed as soon as I posted it? I specified it should expire at the end of the month but is there something else I need to do to enable it? I'd be curious to see a tally of the responses.

 

[bc4]

well since I can't vote on the pole...( it's not working--- not because I'm throwing in another option)

4) Every time I leave my desk I close the lid on my laptop. 5 sec's my Laptop is up and running. I am extremely pleased with Vista wake up time.

edit: i've never opened a poll so I don't know how it works

 

[arrpeegeer]

Good point but laptops (at least in my mind) are a seperate beast and behave so differently, for so many reasons, that I am mainly curious about desktop opinions.

We have two laptops and I don't even think about power saving options since they take care of themselves in that regard mostly. And as for wear and tear on laptop components, it is what it is given that I'm already hauling it around like a shovel!

 

[aevm]

I don't think it matters either way. Since about 1994, I have had a PC at home (turned off every night) and one at work (always on, forever). Both worked fine. I only do that for PCs at work because they have shared folders and somebody might need them even if I'm not there. You might as well turn your PC off at night and save power.

 

[nvalhalla]

I leave mine on all the time. You should power it down, but I just never do. I don't change my oil at 3000 miles either... Wear and tear on the HDD and fans, plus cap degradation in your PSU, it's best to power it down if it will be unused for a few hours.

 

[blacksci]

I power down also, when the p4 was around, i would let it run. With my quad, on the days im home i leave it on, but if i have to work the next day, i power down still, just saves a little cash at the end of the month.

 

[HelpMeBuildIt]

I leave mine on for convenience...and probably because I figure if I don't touch it and it is working fine, it will keep working fine.

I do believe that the rush of electricity can harm the components although I have no scientific proof of it.

 

[3Ball]

I power mine down at night unless I am downloading something that needs to be done over night. Or stress testing of course.

Best,

3Ball