Winter I'll keep my PCs on 24/7 because they keep my room nice and warm. In the summer I'll sleep the gaming rig. The VM server runs 24/7 no matter the season.
My 24/7 systems have always been (or seemed) more reliable than systems that are turned on/off a lot. The majority of my household computers tend to stay on.
On the hard drive question I can't say for sure, but on my computers that I keep powered on I can't recall ever having to change out a hard drive , the ones that I power off and on seem to be the ones that fail.
I leave my monitors on, but they go into standby/sleep. I don't want to have to turn on 4 monitors every time, haha.
Maybe I have a different take on the matter, but maybe I am crazy and paranoid about Thor the Thunder GOD.
It somewhat dates back to one month in July in 2003 where I lost 3 modem surge suppressors and one modem when my computer was off. Or maybe in 1996 when ole Thor destroyed my computer.
So now I shut down the computer, shut off the modem surge suppressor and any wires connected to the computer. Have not had any damage since.
But if need be, I can operate my lap top under battery power and get internet access through a wireless modem even if Thor is having a field day at the time. Otherwise I shut down my desk tops and disconnect anything hard wired to AC current at first hint of thunder. I am not afraid of loud noises, but zillion volt electrical surges are another thing. They will use any hard wired route to fry your computer.
There are lots of good reasons for turning it off:
- Less energy used
- Many fewer hours on moving parts which includes fans/fan bearings
- Less dust accumulated internally because of fewer running hours; reduces cleaning maintenance
- Less exposure to the chance of a catastrophic event such as a line power failure or even an internal computer failure which might result in a fire (eg, unattended PSU blow out).
In 10+ years I have rarely shut my computers off. They were last shut off 2 years ago during a trip to Barbados.:awe: I find that dust has been the primary killer with the build up causing over heating. Vacuums & dust blasters are your friend. They also do not sit on or near the floor.
My 4 machines are overclocked number-crunchers & often run for days at a time at elevated temperatures. Yes, there have been a few failures & the best forensics that I can figure out is that low priced PSUs killed the mother boards ... yes note the plural. This has happened 3 times in the 10 years.
Back when I had a real job the computers that had the most dust accumulation were the ones that had failures ... all hard drives since there was no OC-ing.
Besides the issue of using more power, both starting a cold PC AND leaving one running contribute to eventual failure. It can't be assumed for any one specimen of PC which will be worse because different components and total load vs available power are present.
We could theorize about the ideal perfect PC design or some specific list of component part #s and designate it as an average, but neither of these produce a very usable answer as you don't generally build a new computer with lifespan in mind using parts/data from earlier eras.
Turn the computer off and use the money saved on the power bill to have a backup plan for both hardware and data depending on their total value and instantaneous use value. A failure is only an expense and downtime.
i 100% agree...and that's why comments like "Its never a good idea to leave computers on 24/7" are baseless.Any generalization about whether it's worthwhile has to be put in the context of what the goal or value or priority is.