iPhone 3GS from AT&T. Free Shipping
Desktops: "turning off PC" = Good/Bad
Re: The reason computers have a power switch is so they can
by aryfrosty - 11/26/04 8:13 AM In reply to: The reason computers have a power switch is so they can be turned on and off. Don't waste electricity. by Michael GeistSure they have a switch...but if you're going to power down and come back on in a reasonable time it makes sense to leave it running. There is a rather large surge drain when you power up a CRT. If you're not coming back to it today or for several days it is better to turn it off.
When I think computers fail
by Harvey Hirsch - 4/18/04 7:45 PM In reply to: I Turn My Computers Off/On Several Times A Day by pfeffer3I have been responsible to literally thousands of PC's over the years and my experiences have taught me that computers fail at power on more often than while running. I do believe that you still need to restart any non-server Windows based system PCs everyday for optinum performace.
Re:When I think computers fail
by BuddyL - 4/18/04 9:39 PM In reply to: When I think computers fail by Harvey HirschComputers fail at power up when they have been powered down for a long enough time for them to cool. Even at room temperature, components go into a bit of thermal shock when they are powered on. At that point, a weak component will fail, whereas a consistant temperature will lengthen the life of that component. It has to do with expansion and contraction.
Although I have been told that it is good to reboot it occasionally, my NT server has been running for 3 years, with the exception of being turned of twice to move equipment. My main computer (Win98) gets turned on and off sometimes a couple of times a day just because my system resources get low, and it's the only way I can restore them, but I figure it doesn't suffer much, as I never let it cool down.
Radio and TV Broadcast transmitters and other large tube equipment are equipped to shut down and still keep power to the tubes to prolong their life. Same principle.
Re:Re:When I think computers fail
by lundbye - 4/19/04 1:50 AM In reply to: Re:When I think computers fail by BuddyLNote that an electric bulb also fails when it is turned on. But I think you have to look on how many yeas your computer lives when it's always on and how many years, when it's turned off when not needed. In both cases the MTBF is longer than you would keep your computer, so save the money you use to power and buy a new computer when it fails.
Re: I Turn My Computers Off/On Several Times A Day
by tonyfarris - 8/21/04 1:54 PM In reply to: I Turn My Computers Off/On Several Times A Day by pfeffer3I do the same and have never had a component failure in 10 years of using computers. Whats next, leaving every electrical item in my house on 24/7. Leaving your computer on just wastes electricity. It's just a computer people. Save the electricity, save money. besides if a component were to fail it just gives me a reason to upgrade.
Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD
by zchannel - 4/18/04 7:37 PM In reply to: "turning off PC" = Good/Bad by tyrantigerI don't think there is much electricity wasted by leaving it on all the time. Security is important if you are connected by broadband to the internet. Performance will degrade if the computer is not rebooted daily.
Re:Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD
by AnalogRival - 4/18/04 8:02 PM In reply to: Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD by zchannelMaybe it'll lower on Win9x, but 2k, xp, and other OSes aren't hit like they are. Leave XP or Linux on for a week without a lot of tweaking, and the only thing that'll bring them down is crappy programs or memory leaks.
Re:Re:Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD
by dbain2k - 4/18/04 9:03 PM In reply to: Re:Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD by AnalogRivalI agree 100%. My WinXP Pro system hasn't been rebooted for the past 3 and a half weeks and it's still running as though I just started it. I use it for numerous tasks including playing very intense 3D games. Nothing seems to break this system down.
I also agree with what someone else here said that most failures occur at startup rather than while running.
Here's a little food for thought. Motherboards, video cards and some other PCI cards have very power-hungry capacitors on them. Capacitors draw a fairly large amount of current initially so that they can get charged up, but after that they don't use any more than anything else in the system. Also, devices like hard drives and fans are the same way; they draw quite a bit of current to get up and running but once they're running, they have a pretty steady current draw. And what has to deal with this initial excessive current draw? The power supply of course. That is why people always recommend that you buy a good/high quality power supply and not to skimp. When power supplies start to fail they can cause all sorts of weird things to happen to your system which can lead ANY experienced technician to thinik that it's your RAM going bad, or your CPU, or your hard drive, or even your motherboard! This can be very costly if you replace one of these items and it doesn't fix the problem.
Also, the power supply is not the only part subjected to stress. Pretty much all of the mechanical parts in the system, which would be the hard drives and fans, are prone to it. And of course the normal wear and tear.
My suggestion is to turn the computer on in the morning and then off in the night. There really isn't much reason to have it running all thru the night unless you have some kind of server running on it, like a webserver or a fileserver.
Re:Re:Re:Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD
by barnes - 4/19/04 8:51 AM In reply to: Re:Re:Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD by dbain2khaving delt with electronic circuit boards for many years--i feel as if the system SHOULD stay ON most of the time so as to prevent the problems that occur with cooling down then heating back up;however, there are drawbacks to leaving it on all the time as you have read in the responses--I personally agree with this response--use a little judgement---you wouldn't leave it on when going on a vacation for a week[i hope not]
lightning is another reason for turning it off during periods of non use--or during a storm--if you decide to leave it on most of the time--be sure to implement the power saver feature found under the screen saver as well as allowing the hard drive to come to rest[ no wear and tear when not being used] by using a little common sense--you can have it BOTH ways.
BARNES MARSHALL
Re:Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD
by D_Shank - 4/18/04 9:14 PM In reply to: Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD by zchannelI think you mean Windows degrades if not rebooted everyday.
Powering off is good and bad. Semiconductors do have a finite life. They degrade when powered up, degredation is accelerated by heat and radiation. Therfore turning it off is a good thing.
It used to be 90%, but now with better designed power supplies, probably 70% of the failures occur when turned off. Yes, off. You just don't know it until you try to turn it on. Every time you turn off the power switch, you are playing the odds.
It is a trade off. My rule of thumb is, if it is going to be idle for 8 hours or more. Turn it off, otherwise leave it on.
Re:Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD
by Tokyopete - 4/19/04 8:03 AM In reply to: Re: Turning off PC = GOOD/BAD by zchannelIf you run a daily maintenance schedule for every night then the computer will run at peak performance every day. So you shouldn't need to turn it off or reboot it. Simply rebooting or switching it on every day does NOT improve performance at all. In fact, every time you turn it on from cold, ie yersterday, gives all the parts a shock which will cut down on the life span of the component. Ditto for TVs, radios, etc.
Cutting down on the number of always running in the backgoround programmes (around 20-30 usually) will speed up the comp. Running scandisk, defrag, and clean up every night which is the maintenance programme for windows machines DOES bring the performance up to original performance levels.
Your choice.
Re:off/on
by coldice - 4/18/04 7:40 PM In reply to: "turning off PC" = Good/Bad by tyrantigerI turn mine off. I think it helps to reduce power usage.
Re:Re:off/on
by AnalogRival - 4/18/04 8:00 PM In reply to: Re:off/on by coldiceYes and no. As noted in another post, yes the power does spike when a computer is turned on, but then the consumption lowers greatly. My power supply pulls at max 10 amps from my outlet at 115 volts, and I can promise you I never actually pull 10 amps. If you turn your computer off for long periods of time, yes it does save, but if your turn it off/on more than 4 times a day, it'll balance out somwhat.
Re: turning off PC
by jimbo7149 - 4/18/04 7:41 PM In reply to: "turning off PC" = Good/Bad by tyrantigerI turn my 'puter off several times a day because it tends to overheat if I leave it on.
Re:Re: turning off PC
by AnalogRival - 4/18/04 7:58 PM In reply to: Re: turning off PC by jimbo7149Time for a new case or cooling setup. 
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
