Leaving Computer ON 24/7

[breadcrumb]

I read some years ago that it is actually better to leave your pc on rather than turn it off daily. I do not know if that's really true and thought I better get the info from you experts! I don't want to harm my pc! Thanks!

[Allan]

There are pros and cons for both options. Whatever works best for you is fine. Personally, I've always shut down my systems at the end of the day.

[Salmon Trout]

I think deciding whether to run a PC 24/7 can depend on whether you have householder responsibilities like paying insurance premiums and power bills. My home fire insurance specifies unplugging non-essential electrical devices when on I'm away for more than 7 days. I don't think I could show, in the event of a fire caused by an unattended PC, that having it running was "essential".

More important, perhaps, is the cost of the power. My power company charges 0.12 UK pounds for one kilowatt-hour. My PC uses on average about 150 Watts. A powerful gaming PC might use 200 plus. If I keep it running 24/7 for a year, it will cost 157 pounds (assuming the price does not increase!). I am away at work 5 days a week for 10 hours a day, I sleep about 8 hours a night, and I have the PC on about 12 hours a day at weekends. I am away on vacation about 15 days a year. If I turn the PC off when I don't need it, I have calculated I save 113.62 pounds each year by not having it on 24/7. I would save the cost of my PC in 5.27 years. I have been running PCs like this for more than 20 years, and none of them have failed (as far as I know) because of not being left on 24/7. In fact after around 5.27 years, I genrally want to get a new one. Also, I think it's important to think about the planet.

I have seen that the average cost of one kWh is around 12 cents in the US, so those figures of mine work there too, using dollars instead of pounds.

[camerongray]

I've never really seen a convincing argument for or against leaving it on in terms of life expectancy, I imagine if there is a benefit, the PC would have to be so old for it to be significant that I doubt you'd still be using it!

I personally switch all my PCs off when I'm not using them with the exception of things like servers that have to be running 24/7.  That said, I have no problem leaving them on if they are doing something like performing a long running task.  That said, I don't shut it down every time I'm finished using it, I tend to switch it on the first time I use it in the day then leave it on during the day if I pop out to the shops or something for an hour or so then turn it off when I'm finished with it for the day.  For me the main factor is power consumption, my power prices are very similar to Salmon Trout's, it's simply not worth the extra power bill.

My overall opinion on the matter is that if you have a reason to leave it on 24/7 then by all means do it, but otherwise I see little point based on the extra power consumption.

[BC_Programmer]

Supposedly computers last longer with less stress from being turned on and off, but I don't think that actually matters; that same logic applies to pretty much anything that runs on electricity and few people argue that for example light bulbs should be left on all the time. So I think it should be left up to other concerns, like those Salmon stated.

I leave my Main desktop computer on all the time usually- I usually turn off the monitors at night though. I usually have a lot of stuff I'm doing- database query windows, different projects open, etc. and I prefer to keep that state for when I use it next, rather than start all the software up again and figure out what I was doing. Outlook and Skype notification noises usually get me up in the morning if my Phone alarm doesn't do the job too. self-centered perhaps but in my defense my electricity comes almost entirely from clean power sources (Hydroelectricity). So I'd expect the damage to mostly be in my wallet.

It's just the one PC I leave on- I have a few others and tend to turn them off when not using them, or at least I leave their sleep features on to reduce their power usage if I forget to do so.

[Salmon Trout]

Supposedly computers last longer with less stress from being turned on and off

I think I have heard tales of old server hard drives that might not survive a power cycle... better not to risk it... Also I read about an early computer (the Whirlwind? I'm not sure) that had thousands of vacuum tubes and a certain percentage would fail on power up (like filament bulbs - remember them? - used to) anyhow it was the property of the US Navy and was guarded by the Navy equivalent of MPs who told the civilian computer scientists that regulations for electrical plant said it had to be powered down each night when left unattended... they got so tired of the work this caused they got a special dispensation.

[Geek-9pm]

Everybody is right.
There is no real good reason to leave you PC on on turn it off. Except one.
If yo want it off, turn it off.
One of too many:
https://www.zrsystems.com/news-a-events/blog/tip-of-the-week-should-you-leave-your-pc-on-or-power-it-down-1
He does not give a strong answer.

After considering all of these different factors, only you can know if it’s best to turn off your PC at the end of the day, or keep it on. Whatever you decide,  ...    T

So, we have here a form of three state login.
True, False and Neither one. 

EDIT: There is trend to have everything turned on;  TV sets, Coffee makers, Smart Phones and anything the can go into automatic hibernation mode.

[patio]

There's basically 2 answers...you can turn it off...or leave it on.