Some advice about usage.

[odannyboy000]

I couldn't think of a proper title for my question, but since you are reading this it's ok. My question is, is it better to leave your computer constantly running and only reboot when necessary (such as updating a certain file) or is it better to turn it off at night. If I were to turn it off at night it would be off for roughly 8 hours. I don't care about power usage. I just want to know how to have to longest computer life. If you know the answer to this, is there a way to prove it. Material, maybe, that is available explaining why it is better to do one over the other.

[i an not a nerd]

Well, I always turn off my computer to save power and to minimize the risk of getting hacked/virused (is virused a word?) Ok, another reason is that the motors in the fans will last longer as will the motors in the HDs and the power supply fan. Anyways, turning off the computer makes my pump last longer. (go watercooled)

[poppy]

You can read some comments on the same subject here:

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=39439

[odannyboy000]

The old post that poppy left was the reason I started this thread. I want to know why one is better than the other.

[classicsoftware]

It's a matter of preference. I will tell you however, the general consenus, with no scientific proof to back it up is:

It's better to leave it on 24-7. The system is stressed at startup and shutdown and that stress shortens the life of the system.

I leave mine on except when i'm away for vacation. I do however suggest you get a solid UPS if you leave it on all of the time.

[poppy]

I think you are still going to get some varied answers. I haven't Google'd to see if there is any hard data out there.

A couple of quotes from the other thread:

mine runs 24/7/365 I never shut down I only re-boot when needed. the more you shut and start up it puts wear on your hardware,by heating up and cooling down.
If left on, you have the benefit of a near constant temp of your CPU, mobo, chips, etc. But the fans run even if you are not doing anything with your pc. There needs to be a trade off. The fans wear out, the dust bunnies accumulate, whatever.

I will tell you since that thread, I have been leaving my system on 24/7 to monitor the temperatures. Before this when my system was shut down and I started up each time, my case temp/cpu temp were consistently 34ºC and 40-50ºC at startup and initial activity going on and sometimes the CPU would spike to 55ºC. Now that I run it 24/7, the temps are consistently 34/37ºC for most usage with an occasional spike of 40ºC. Of course, I don't game or anything heavy that would put a strain on the system.

Also, I'm not running a newer generation processor either but based on my observations, I would say that I'm putting less strain on my current hardware and may give the system some longer life.

[saphalline]

Just to recap what has been posted, leaving your system on puts less wear & tear on your hardware (CPU, RAM, mobo, PSU, etc) but puts more wear & tear on your moving parts (fans mostly). Turning your system off every night generally puts more wear & tear on your hardware, but the trade-offs only really affect your hardware if the "off time" is less than 8 hours a day. If you only use your computer for say, 12 hours a day, then turning it off every night is worth it. If only because at that point, a 20% reduction in average hardware lifespan (just an example figure) won't make a difference if your system is off for 50% of the time!

That's why this is mostly a case-by-case sort of situation. If you don't use your computer enough to justify leaving it on all the time, then by all means turn it off! However, for those of us who have a home LAN with a separate file sever computer and are constantly running apps on our workstations, well... :rolleyes:

[odannyboy000]

I use my computer probably at least 16 hours a day. thanks guys