Desktops forum: What's the best for a PC life: Sleep, hibernate, or shutdown?

up untill lately the big problem with power supplies going bad was electrolytic capacitors - they work with a electrolyte (wet) which dries out with heat and use and that's one of the reasons power suppies and Mother Boards failed - the cap dried out - now newer Power supplies and MB use soild state capacitors with NO electrolyte (well the better ones) so in the old days heat was a bigger problem - not to say heat is not a problem now but with good cooling that's not as big a problem now as it was - with better power suppy brands (with enough power rating) and mother board power ragulators that are much inproved and turning on is not the problem as it was in the older days - with a good brand of power supplies and MB power cycling is not big problem - now HDs can have problems on a lot of HD the heads say on the hard platers even as the drive spins down and even touch the plate at power down and power up - NOT good now Western Digital drives un-load the heads off the plater at power down and do not load untill the drive is up to speed - and another componet that takes toll are the drive bearings - then only last so long. So I say power down at night !

I have my desktop for 8 years, and i always turn it on and off, everyday and night, and it still works. I never had problems with the power supply nor the hard disk, maybe because i have a voltage regulator, i don't know.

In my very personal opinion, shutting down your pc if you won't use it for more than 2 hours is the best way to save energy, but if you don't mind paying the extra money for it, maybe is best to let it on 24/7, but you should first consider using an UPS, so if there are some fails with the energy supply, you won't loss your work, data, etc.

I think the best way to find a balance between energy save and PC life, is to know when you gonna use your computer more or less. If you just turn it on because you need to copy an mp3 to a pendrive don't turn it off inmediately, just put it on sleep if you will use it after an hour or so, but if copy your file in the morning and you won't use your PC untill the afternoon or late at night, i think is best to turn it off untill you really need to use it.

Maybe the best option is to use the common sense.

Hello Andre,

As I learned in my my many electronics engineering classes, the worst thing you can do to just about anything electronic is to make it go from one temperature extreme to the other, as the changes in temperature will shrink and expand the elements making their connections (both solder and semi-conductor) week and unstable. Having said that, my philosophy is to leave the computers and screens running to prolong their lives. In my 17-year tenure as Data Systems Admin, I have had great longevity results from my servers, screens and hard drives that continuously run.

Good luck,
Dan

That post is classic subjective reasoning. Ignores facts posted previously that say temperature changes are near zero. At best, only subjective speculation. If your post was accurate, the most failed component in every computer is its Intel or AMD CPU. Numerous other reasons were also given from an EE with a few generations of experience. Best read them.

Also bogus are claims made by IT people. These people have minimal if any hardware knowledge. Are always a good source for the latest urban myth. Rarely know how electricity works. Only recite the first claim heard because they rarely demand the always required numbers.

Knowledge only from observation is classic junk science. IT people often know only from observation and hearsay. The relevant and important concepts were already posted.

Ask an IT person what is the most common source of failures. If he does not say manufacturing defects, then his knowledge comes from hearsay; conclusion only based in observations.

When you choose to compose smug and condescending replies, it's important that you use proper grammar and sentence structure- after all, you're trying to convince us that you are smarter than the other posters, right?

I counted six incomplete sentences just in your first two paragraphs, so please correct this and then resubmit your work for proper credit. Try to follow your own advice ("Does anyone first read before posting?") in future posts.

How sad that you're a defending poor writing skills. Is it safe to assume (hope) that you are not a teacher or parent- who may be passing on your lower standards? Ah, the lazy defending the lazy.

Is it safe to assume that you also approve of dictionaries making "conversate" an official word? Why respect thousands of years of the English language, when it's so much less work to lower the bar?

I get tired of the English police spamming up the forums everywhere. The way I see it, even people with poor communications skills have a say in this world. Harassing them is not going to help the situation, and it is more irritating to see the constant corrections than to just simply put up with the errors.

My wife insisted we leave our computers on all the time because that's what the IT people at work want them to do. I didn't like the idea but went along with it. One night I smelled something burning and went into our computer room and smoke was pouring out of the power supply vent of our less then one year old emachine. After that I turn everything off.

This question may never get a resounding answer, but allow me to say...

When I'm through using the sink, I shut the water off. When I'm done with the lights I shut them when leaving the room. When, I leave the house I lock it. When I go anywhere to and fro in the car, I shut if off, don't idle. When I'm done for the day, I take my shoes off. So, how is that when someone is going to be away from a PC for at least 1hr. they can't shut it down? I hear so much that users leave their PCs on all night, because it save the PC from some damage or be up and running that much faster. Well, you do what you like, but I find no practical reason to leave the PC running when not in use for anytime over an hr. away from it. Regardless, of all the modern PC setting, it just makes sense to turn it off. That power sw. is an ON/OFF item not a optional setting. Anything saved or gotten from that method is so trivial it really doesn't add-up to an advantage as I see it. Of course, I haven't even mentioned any safety matters.

tada -----Willy

Convertible circa 1985, that is still kicking. I had it connected to a Zerox memory writer that is still kicking too! The battery in the IBM is inop after a lightning strike, but otherwise it still works!

Most interesting. First time IBM used batteries, 2.5 floppies, and other stuff. Portable/laptop. Cost about $2,000.00 back then.
There is a video on YouTube of a IBM convertible commerical from back in the day. Has a Charlie Chaplin type character running around with one.
My brother used to work for Zerox. Probably repaired a few writers.

How did Shakespeare know this was the question?

"To die, to sleep—No more—"

"The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks "

Seriously, it's the dust!
The single biggest computer killer (desk top and lap top too)!

Power supplies, CPUs and GPUs require heat dissipation.

Dust insulates the fins and restricts air flow.

Shutdown the system and unplugged for at least 5 minutes to cool.
Flood the power supply vents with "canned air".
You might want to take the system outside if you haven't done this before.
You're gonna freakout!

You should also open the case and spray CPU and GPU head sink fins from various angles.