leave pc running all day?
 

wondered if it is wise to leave my pc running all day long when i'm at work?

there are times when i need to encode or download stuff and you know these things take a lot of time.

however i also have a fear of pc breaking down and causing a fire or such like.

is there anything i could do to minimize such occurences?

funnily enough i do leave my set top box running all day and have no probs with that!

just the pc and how much power it needs that worries me.

lol i have mine running weeks at a time sometimes longer. it hasnt blown up or caught fire yet

I have 8 computers, 6 of which run all day long - one hasn't been off in 2 years (has a backup power supply). I'm off the mindset that a constant temperature and speed is a good thing. Starting up, much like your car, is a make it or break it event - so..... of course my power bill is larger than most!

jeez that is something indeed.
what happens during summer/heatwave?
no meltdown?
or do you spend even more energy & money keepnig the air-con flowing all day as well?
what kind of bills you paying?
and when did you hit the lotto to pay for all this?

Is it good? No, not at all.

1. Hardware. The only hardware truly designed to run 24/7 is server-grade hardware, and certain kinds of workstations. Desktops and laptops were never meant to run 24/7 like that. A number of component in PSU, CPU, RAM, motherboard, hard drives, etc., will overheat after a number of hours. You shorten the lifespan of your computer this way.

2. Costs. You're paying for the electricity. Some folks argue it's less than a light bulb, some say it's far more. I personally don't care how much or little it is... it's still my money. As my father (and many other fathers) always said: "turn off the lights when you're not using them." Would you wipe your rear with $1 bills? The concept is the same: throwing away good money.

3. Environmentalism. You're wasting natural resources and contributing to the pollution to the world. Stop it. I realize we all waste in some way, but at least attempt to cut back. Does the computer really "need" to be on 24/7 and using power? Probably not!

That's my take.

got this on the web:

A 100-watt light bulb uses 100 watts.
A typical desktop computer uses 400 watts??? - well the psu is rated at 400/500/650 W

Kilowatt-hours ---
1,000 watt-hours is a kilowatt-hour (kWh).

One 100-watt light bulb on for an hour, is 0.1 kWh (100/1000)
One 100-watt light bulb on for ten hours is 1 kWh (1 bulb x 100W x 10h= 1000Wh = 1 kWh)

Take a moment to understand the difference between kilowatts and kilowatt-hours. The former is the rate of power at any instant. The latter is the amount of energy used A light bulb doesn't use 60 watts in an hour, it uses 60 watt-hours in an hour.

not all areas pay the same amount (US & UK)
but as rough guide you pay between 6cents and 10cents per kilowatt hour.

an example:

Assume your desktop uses 400 watts.
running it 24x7...

400 watts x 24 hours/day x 30 days/month = 288,000 Total Watt-hours
288,000 Wh / 1000 Wh = 288 kWh
288 kWh x 10¢/kWh = $28.8/mo.; $345.6/yr

(can someone double check these?)

then times 6 for padre!!!!!!!!!!!

what do you add on for monitor?
set top box?
2,3,4 dvd recorders?
AC?

burn the planet down now....

4 of the systems are pvrs, so they have to be on (no monitors attached). The other 2 are my editing/burning stations. Just prefer to leave them on.

Me, I don't give 2 cents for the 'environmental' issues involved. If you can afford to pay the bill, then its your choice. Reminds me of those idiots who throw things at Hummers. If you can afford the Hummer, you're going have no problem paying for more gas, tax, etc. If I want a sermon, I'll go to church (yeah, like that'll happen!)

Well, let's see - I don't run a clean room, don't have them in racks or server-case setups - but they've lasted for years and years. Obviously I must be doing something wrong! lol

I worry more about my fridge or TV causing a fire while I'm away, than i do my pcs. As many people point out, when you "power off" your set, its still drawing power and just in 'standby'. I dated this one gal who unplugged my TV, microwave and other appliances whenever we left the house - man was that a pain! Her reason? Her house had once been hit by lightning and it trashed all their appliances. Oh, did she forget to tell me that it was a 80 year old house with crappy wiring and no decent grounding?

HUMMERS SUCKS! AS well as all you SUV owners! I was at the Post Office the otherday and a gal pulls up along side my parked car in a Escalade. She gets out and is probably 5 foot and about 20 lbs overwight easy. She waited to pull alongside my parked car about 5 minutes because it was closer to the Post Office. It probably saved her 100 steps which she could have really used the exercise. Of course since I drive a sedan I can't see when I back up so I have to wait.

This is typical here in the great state of Washington. MAkes me think that may be some us aren't taxed (ugh) enough- Padre! If people can afford this crap may be they ought to be a little more thoughtful about giving back instead of this self gratification attitude.

PS-By the way studies have proven that conservatives are far more giving to charitable causes then liberals. Why-liberals think they are owed everything just because they are taking up space on this floating rock.

PSPS-(Bumpersticker I saw)- "Inside every old person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened!"

I'm done witrh my rant!! I think??[:x)][:x)][:x)][:x)][:x)][8D][8D]:D:D:D:):)[}:)]:D:):)[:x)][:x)]


PSPSPS- I warned everyone five + years ago that energy was going to be a major problem.

I got 2 rigs that tun 24/7. neither one is off unless I am upgrading or cleaning.

Mine is an over clocked 4400+ on water so I have a pump that runs 24/7 as well.

Never had a capacitor blow or a PSU go bad. A lot of it depends on the components you use.

A good quality PSU, and motherboard should have no problem running 24/7 for a few years.

I can't say the same about pre-builds like Dell, HP or Compaq.

It's been debated for years now with no real answer definitively.As someone who works in the computer industry I can say no it doesn't really matter.There is no conclusive proof that it'll run down your hardware any faster than a daily boot-up will do, running it continuously.Whatever you prefer basically.However I'd recommend a good surge protector, and make sure you wiring, etc is good if you elect to do so.There are a people who have had fires that supposedly originated from a pc left on.However that could be due to crappy wiring, sorry surge protector, etc.Provide proper ventilation on your computer and it should never be a problem.Do some research online, you'll find the answers to your questions.However I've never experienced nor worked on any computers that have had problems due to being left on 24/7.Or place it in standby or hibernate mode based on your needs if necessary.It doesn't use as much power as most will have you believe,again do the research you'll find out the truth.

You do need to reboot occassionally, I know that for a fact!