I've been curious for quite a while now what the best settings for desktop pc's are nowadays. By settings I mean, should it go into standby, should the harddrive turn off, how frequently, should the pc ever be turned off etc. I know with past computers, that leaving the pc on 24/7 without turning it off ever, resulted in a reduced lifespan. I recently build a new rig and am wondering what are some good settings to apply to make sure I don't shorten the lifespan! Apologies if this isn't the correct forum for this, was a bit hard finding a good place to post it D:.
Best settings to extend pc lifespan
- Thread starter hedshotx
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- Jan 3, 2012
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Hi 
We will all have different opinions on this...
I own computer shops and build custom machines, we also use them ourselves both for business and pleasure (games)
Let me give you 2 examples....
Both similar....
My own personal machine at home and a similar one in my office...
Lian Li cases (allly) , 1100T , 16 GB RAM. TWIN 5870 (2GB)
We turn off all POWER SAVING, HIBERNATION etc etc....
We run SETI 24/7 on all machines, and we NEVER EVER turn them off....
My personal opinion on this is....
These are COMPUTERS .....NOT ornaments....
Let them work and play hard and they last....
All the best Brett
We will all have different opinions on this...
I own computer shops and build custom machines, we also use them ourselves both for business and pleasure (games)
Let me give you 2 examples....
Both similar....
My own personal machine at home and a similar one in my office...
Lian Li cases (allly) , 1100T , 16 GB RAM. TWIN 5870 (2GB)
We turn off all POWER SAVING, HIBERNATION etc etc....
We run SETI 24/7 on all machines, and we NEVER EVER turn them off....
My personal opinion on this is....
These are COMPUTERS .....NOT ornaments....
Let them work and play hard and they last....
All the best Brett
shanky887614
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- Feb 5, 2010
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the only reason most people's computers fail is because they buy cheap naff powersupplies
ive had a cheap one go in my pc in under 5 years because it was a cheap naff no brand one.
if you want to know what happened it burnt itself out (600watt on a core 2 duo)
psu's tend to be the thing people most scrimp on but it should be one of the parts that you spend the most time purchasing
the cpu's are a nobrainer because they rarely if ever fail. at least compared to say the power supply
many people have had computers running for 5-10years without turning them off.
for people that use it for games though it is unlikely it will be on for this length of time because they will turn them off to upgrade them
ive had a cheap one go in my pc in under 5 years because it was a cheap naff no brand one.
if you want to know what happened it burnt itself out (600watt on a core 2 duo)
psu's tend to be the thing people most scrimp on but it should be one of the parts that you spend the most time purchasing
the cpu's are a nobrainer because they rarely if ever fail. at least compared to say the power supply
many people have had computers running for 5-10years without turning them off.
for people that use it for games though it is unlikely it will be on for this length of time because they will turn them off to upgrade them
13thmonkey
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- Jan 10, 2006
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they are indeed designed to work, the only thing that will 'wear' at stock is a HDD simply because they are rotating components. OK fans might fail, but they are cheap to replace. beyond stock there may be longevity issues with higher voltages etc.
13thmonkey
Titan
- Jan 10, 2006
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I don't think that there is a problem with turning them off, I think bretts point is that there is no problem with leaving them on and 'doing things' or just on.
PSU's have a nasty habit of wearing out, normally evidenced by a reducing peak power, if your normal peak power is high enough then this isn't a problem for a good long while.
PSU's have a nasty habit of wearing out, normally evidenced by a reducing peak power, if your normal peak power is high enough then this isn't a problem for a good long while.
Ohmybad
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- Nov 16, 2011
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so far every thing posted is valid, they're machines they will run until failure, most of the time it's due to power (or overclocks)...
i am one person that turns my PC off when im done for the night and boots it up in the morning.
more times then not it's little things that fail over time, Ethernet connection on the mobo, GPUs, and PSUs.
i am one person that turns my PC off when im done for the night and boots it up in the morning.
more times then not it's little things that fail over time, Ethernet connection on the mobo, GPUs, and PSUs.
Max Collodi
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- Feb 24, 2010
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My computer is on with everything set to run continuously except when I am asleep or away. If it's a reasonably well built computer it will become obsolete long before it stops working so I don't see this as an issue to worry about. Many of my former computers are still working in friends homes. The only issue I see concerning running things constantly vs turning things off is the cost of the electricity to operate them. Any difference in longevity is negligible.
hella-d
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- Jan 14, 2006
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I Agree With Brett LETTER RIP! I Only Use Power Saving To Save Power
1) By The Time The Machine Wears Out It Will Be Useless Anyway.
2) If A Part Fails Replace it. Very Rarely Does More Than One Part Ever Fail Unless Your Talking About A S**t PSU Taking Out Everything In The System or A Lghtning Strike.
3) Preveantative Matinence, Most Failures Are Caused By Pepole Who Treat Stuff Poorly.
4) You Should Never Turn A PC On/Off More Often Than Really Necessary, But That Goes For Most Anything Not Just PCs
Its Hard On Curcuits (Can Cause Chip Creep, Yes It Still Happens Thats Why Mission Critical Machines Are Rarely EVER Turned Off) Hard Drive Bearings And Fan Bearings Among Other Things.
1) By The Time The Machine Wears Out It Will Be Useless Anyway.
2) If A Part Fails Replace it. Very Rarely Does More Than One Part Ever Fail Unless Your Talking About A S**t PSU Taking Out Everything In The System or A Lghtning Strike.
3) Preveantative Matinence, Most Failures Are Caused By Pepole Who Treat Stuff Poorly.
4) You Should Never Turn A PC On/Off More Often Than Really Necessary, But That Goes For Most Anything Not Just PCs
Its Hard On Curcuits (Can Cause Chip Creep, Yes It Still Happens Thats Why Mission Critical Machines Are Rarely EVER Turned Off) Hard Drive Bearings And Fan Bearings Among Other Things.
- Jan 3, 2012
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Hi
Couple of final things....
SETI = What is SETI@home?
SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/
................................................................................................................
Oh and we turn OFF the monitors at night to save some electricity....
The other reason I dont like turning computers off at night is the HUGE number of people that come into my shops and say things like...WELL, I TURNED IT ON THIS MORNING AND IT (DIDNT START OR WONT GO INTO WINDOWS ..ETC ETC)
So for long term trouble free computing, we leave them running...
All the best Brett
Couple of final things....
SETI = What is SETI@home?
SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/
................................................................................................................
Oh and we turn OFF the monitors at night to save some electricity....
The other reason I dont like turning computers off at night is the HUGE number of people that come into my shops and say things like...WELL, I TURNED IT ON THIS MORNING AND IT (DIDNT START OR WONT GO INTO WINDOWS ..ETC ETC)
So for long term trouble free computing, we leave them running...
All the best Brett
Well from the sounds of things, if I don't have a bad quality PSU then I shouldn't worry about leaving everything running all night right? I have a 750w OCZ ZS 80+ bronze. It seems to get pretty favorable reviews and its bronze rating which is why I bought it.
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