computer power

[narin]

Hey, this isn't really a components question but I couldn't find the right category to post in. Anyway I was wondering about whether I should leave my computer on overnight and all day or not. I've heard that leaving your computer on all the time actually uses less power then the turning on/shutting down process. How much power does it really use? Also, is it good for your computer to be on all the time?

 

[Teq]

Well, think about it this way... Every component in your computer is designed for a certain number of hours of operation. The spec to look for is "MTBF", Mean Time Between Failures.

1 year is 8760 hours. Depending on the ratings of your various computer parts, leaving your system on all the time could easily bring some of it down to less than a year of useable life.

It's up to you how fast you use up those hours.




<b>(</b>It ain't better if it don't work.<b>)</b>

 

[upec]

I keep my computer on all the time since I use my computer often. Turn on and off computer too often will shorten it's life time.

 

[elzt]

Yeah. And most PC components are designed to run 24/7.

This topic has been discussed before, can't remember which section of the forum, but the conclusion was that most people leave their system on.

 

[error_911]

quite frankly, the lifespan of a system is long enough that it doesn't matter whether it is left on or not anyways. I leave both my systems running 24/7, and the original I used to run as well (Pentium @ 133Mhz, 32mb RAM) was on for a total of 6 years (i owned it for 7, but lets just say that it was "on" for 6, for argument's sake), then that would mean 52,560 hours of runtime. If you want more than that out of a PC, then I think you're dreaming.

And for anyone whose interested, it died about 4 months ago due to motherboard problems :*( ... though it now exists in the heart of three working computers (I saved the CPU and stuck it in a mobo that had a P100 and OC'ed it to 200 with a cooling mod, stuck the hard drive in a 266Mhz MMX OC'ed to 333Mhz system as backup, the ram in both, heh, and the sound card (original SoundBlaster 16) and the video card (Voodoo 2000) into a P233Mhz (OC'd to 266Mhz, too unstable otherwise). The beauty of cannibalizing old systems is the fact that you can have an oldschool Lan-party without anyone needing to bring a thing ! plug in to the Hub and you're off ! heheheheh, also gets pesky family/friend/girlfriend off back when they want to use the internet or do "work" while you're on the main rig, hehehehehe

<b>"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people"<b>

 

[lhgpoobaa]

it uses alot less power turning it off for the night. the power usage peaks at startup, but its very quick to settle to normal levels.

turning off and on too many times each day is detrimental to component lifespan, especially hard drives... so its all depends on how much u use it.

<i>"Revenues were less than robust"</i> - QWEST
<i>"The company applied its accounting policies incorrectly"</i> - WORLDCOM
<i>"Certian financial adjustments may be required"</i> - AOL+TW.

 

[RobD]

Neither my work machine nor my home PC get switched off, unless it's for sys maint. I simply lock the workstation and do whatever I gotta do. Any probs, reboot.

 

[Codinerx]

I've had an old IBM Aptiva for about 5 years, and pretty much left it on day and night, without any problems. However, the computer I built about a year and a half ago is very loud, and I wind up just turning it off when I go to bed at night, out of neccesity. I think if you are really worried about shortening your computer's lifetime, you should just turn it off at night. Either way, the whole thing will be obsolete in a year or two, so don't sweat it to much. Good question though.

 

[narin]

Hm..i usually use it from 2:30pm-11pm then I have sleep/school. On the weekend I usually leave it on 24/7, should I do the same during the week? Also no one has really answered my question about power. For my situation, is it worth it to turn it off before I sleep every night during the week?

 

[Teq]

Yes, turn it off at night.

I turn mine off whenever I'm going to be away from it for more than a couple of hours...

<b>(</b>It ain't better if it don't work.<b>)</b>

 

[Codinerx]

I think you should be fine either way. Its kind of pointless to leave it on at night if you aren't using it for anything at that time. I would imagine that it can't really hurt though.

 

[upec]

If you do not want to pay for the extra electricity bill then turn the computer off at night.

 

[Teq]

Well... other than giving the hackers a better chance at your firewall .


<b>(</b>It ain't better if it don't work.<b>)</b>

 

[svol]

Yes, definitive worth it.

PC may use less power when idle... but it is stil around the 50-100W.
Powering on only gives a power peak for a couple of seconds when the HDs start spinning and the CDROM drives load.

My dual-PSU PC is so powerfull that the neighbourhood dims when I turn it on