Leave Computer On 24/7?

[xxkbxx]

Hello everybody,

I heard today that the best thing you can do for a computer is leave it on ALL the time. My only worries are with internet intrusions - I have no problem with electric surges or power outages because I'm on a UPS.

I have firewall and virus protection - is it okay for me to leave the computer on all the time?

Also, do I want to set it to standby or just let it run normally?

[Pierce]

Technically, the act of powering up, and powering down a computer each time stops and starts the electron flow though silicon damaging it slightly each time.

But you dont need to, and remember the cost of running a pc can be heavy. Depending on how many hard drives (they spin all the time), what powerrating your power supply unit is. If its pulling 400watts an hour, with everything, that can be quiet expenisve....

I take it your on dsl/cable? If you are, then your most likly already behind a NAT, which limits most attacks. Then pretty much any firewall after that will work. Just keep the firewall and av updated all the time.

Standby or let it run normally. Well windows can always do with a good restart every so often, but i did get a week out of one system once, which was amazing. And how much electricity do you want to, not want to burn..?

Pierce

[Honda_Boy]

I've heard both sides of this argument and I think you should turn it off. Wrap your mind around this. When you leave the system on you do have mechanical things going......Fans. They have bearings in them that can go bad. The other side of the argument is heat stress. Well the average life span of components a lot of time is longer than the usefulness of the computer. Say a CPU, it's usually about 10 years or so. Yeah, we trashed an 8 year old computer not too long ago (proper recycling place of course). Plus when you leave it on you are running your electric bill real good cause computers suck down the juice. So just turn it off and save a little cash.

[Besttechie]

Hey,

I for one leave my PC on all the time, but this debate can go both ways. I also leave it on all the time because it's less of a hassle than having to keep turning it on and off. I've also never experienced any issues with hardware from leaving it on, so I don't see why not. You should be fine with a firewall, good AV such as NOD32 or Kaspersky (My two favorites, if you're going to pay) for free I like AVG or Avast, also make sure you have anti-spyware tools installed to help keep you safe. Now as for standby mode and hibernation. I don't like using those features on desktops, I feel they were built more for laptops. So I don't use them for my desktop. I'll just have my monitor turn off after 15-20 minutes of not being in use.

B

[bearskin]

I leave mine on 24x7...except when I'm soldering some connections on the board...seeing as how I'm an old man I might forget how to turn it back on....y'all have a nice day now

[TheTerrorist_75]

With today's CPUs and other hardware turning it on/off will not noticably decrease the lifespan of the components. You may have to replace cheap sleeved bearing fans more often and the consequences of the CPU fan failing while you are out would cause major damage. Set the Bios to turn off the computer in case of overheating. As for power usage an idle computer uses less than a couple of 100 watt light bulbs. A CRT monitor will use a lot of energy where a LCD won't. Have your monitors go into standby after a set amount of time. With the CRT this will save energy and for the LCD this will save the lifespan of the CCFL tube.

Myself, I turn off my system after I am done for the day or leaving the house. My computer runs from the time I open my eyes in the morning until I go to bed unless I am not home. Of course it is right next to where I sleep and the constant drone of the fans drive me nuts while sleeping.

Edited February 26, 2006 by TheTerrorist_75

[Dragon]

I leave mine on, I have my power settings set up to turn off (spin down) the HDD's after 30 minutes of downtime. I have compared my electric bill based on the comp being up 24/7 and being turned on/off for an entire month. my results lead me to leave it on. The electricity usage that my computer used when on 24/7 amounted to a whole 16 cent increase for the entire month. to me 16 cents is not that much of a savings.

[xxkbxx]

hmm. I'll have to think about it

I already have my monitor turn off after 20 minutes, so I think I will just leave the computer on all day, then turn it off at night

[JDoors]

The debate on longevity and power consumption has gone both ways for years, but if all you're concerned about is Internet safety while you're away, don't worry. There's nothing that can occur while you're away that cannot happen if you were sitting in front of the computer. In other words, if there is some way to breach your system, it can happen while you're right there, so not being there shouldn't be a concern.

If you feel that your security software is doing a good job, then you should be able to trust it when you're away. Come to think of it, systems are most often breached because of something the operator did (opening infected mail, booting an infected disc, visiting a malicious site, etc.). If no one's there there's less chance of something happening than when you are there.

If power consumption or wear & tear are issues use the power options to power things down after a set time (there are many options in addition to the monitor one that you're currently using).

------

Oh, someone's tallying votes? I was mostly addressing one specific issue, Internet security, that it shouldn't be the deciding factor. I shut mine down 'cause I use Windows '98SE and restarting gives me back any stolen or lost resource memory.

Edited February 27, 2006 by JDoors

[fubz]

I leave mine on occassionaly. But I play games a lot and i notice that after a day the computer needs to be rebooted or else the game runs like crap. After that it works ok.

But if i'm not gaming it stays on when possible so its easy to come back to.

I just figure if something happens, or something breaks it will give me something to do. And i get to bother you nice people

[rhema7]

I prefer to turn mine off. I have left it on for several weeks at a time with not ill effects but if I'm not using it it goes off i'm wierd like that. win I first purchased this house I had to cut a opening in the crawl space to the othe half of the crawl space because they sealed it up and no vents on that part of the house it was starting to mildew (all fixed). Wel under there was a light fixture that had been on (Sealed up) since electricity was turned on (almost a year at that point) That light served no purpose being on so it errked! something fierce. It is the same with the computer. I do keep one on because of a FTP server I run so clients can access PDFs of works in progress to see how I'm coming and to make notes but the others are off if we are not in front of them.

Preston

[Guest Tony]

I leave my computer on all the time unless I need to reboot cause on of an Windows update or and update for A2 (A-sqaured) and my firewall and av and all my other security things.

Or when im cleaning out my registry.

[robroy]

I have 3 that run 24 / 7 and my son leaves his on too

Just turn off the monitors

[Martint]

I leave mines on 24/7

nothing bad happens

I never get infested with spyware/virus

[rv56]

Mine is on all the time also. If I go away for an extended period (couple of days or more) is when I will shut it down. Monitor is set for 20 min.

Take care...

[tjenn]

I leave all 3 of mine on 24/7. My oldest one being 5 years old, has never seen any problems with being on constantly. I started leaving mine turned on all the time when I got into SETI@Home and the Folding projects.

[blim]

I choose the "happy medium" and turn the idiot box off when I'm done for the night or if it's not going to be used for the next 6 hours or so.

Soooo, is someone keeping track of the votes? Not me, lousy at math...

Liz

Edited February 27, 2006 by blim

[Honda_Boy]

It don't really hurt to do either (except like I said bearings and I also forgot to mention your hard drive has bearings too but thats a big DUH) I just say turn it off to save a few bucks.

My reasons for turning all mine off. The main system: covered up in blue LED fans. It's in the den. The dog sleeps in the den. nuff said. The compaq: not exactly the quietest computer. It's in my room. That's where I sleep. nuff said.

[baker7]

It depends on which computer I am using, and it depends on the situation at hand

Defiant, being my backup machine, usually stays on when I need her on my network - That way, I can do multiple things at once, and get the job done: I can then move files around with no problems.

I turn off Defiant more often, because she is older, and I don't want to lose files on the drives. However, since Defiant takes forever to come up sometimes, shutting her down and restarting her can take upwards of 1 Minute and 45 seconds sometimes, so if I have her on, I leave her on until I am done, and sometimes leave her on at home for a week or 2 and shut her off

Emmanuel, being the flagship machine, stays on 24/7 when I am home or away on short trips, but if I was to leave the area, I turn it off, or when weather is a factor such as storms, lightning, etc. I always turn off my mnachines at least once a week, because then they can rest, but being on DSL is cool, because updates can always happen.

Also, this way, I don't have to worry about being current with autoupdates - My mom shuts down nightly - unless I am there and doing updates

Brian

Edited February 27, 2006 by baker7

[Dragon]

Soooo, is someone keeping track of the votes? Not me, lousy at math...

Liz

so far the count is as follow:

• leave on: 10
  turn off: 3
  

by the looks of it most of us leave our systems on. This is only counting those that specified whether or not they leave the machines on.

[martymas]

all of a suddon the theme is leave your compt turned on

there are 4 posts at g4

3 at worldstart

and it looks as tho it is starting here

i turn mine of and have done it for five years

and i dont intend to change

marty

[Vikitty]

I have mine on 24/7, unless I'm going away on vacation. I turn my monitor off when I'm not home, though; don't want my roommate getting curious if I forget to turn it off!

[bozodog]

24/7 for us here. (two machines) We turn off the monitors when not in use, but the machines stay on even if we're away.

[tictoc5150]

All 3 PCs stay on 24/7....only monitors turn off....shutting down is for hardware upgrades and windows users

[thesidekickcat]

I usually shut it all down, except lately while I have been having freeze-up crashes on boot up due to Norton problems. So only shut down if absolutely essential...like bad weather and I have to unplug the new UPS, then I pray that I can boot up again when I plug it all back in.

I must say that my cat has been enjoying having the computer/monitor on...she likes to watch the Screen Saver Beziers that I have set for 30 minutes of no use. When I get this thing all fixed up with a new internet security pkg....leaning towards McAfee's right now (but could that just be frying pan into the fire?)....then I should install the aquarium screen saver software I have had on hand for ages (no procrastination in this household nope, unuh, no not much!!!). Still I will go back to shutting down at end of the day, unless cat becomes addicted to the fishies... no spoiled cats around here right?

Pat

God bless everyone.