on or off?

scottmorley · 23 May 2013 at 18:13

hi guys,
was just wondering whether you all keep your pc's on 24/7 or turn them off when not in use.
i turn mine off, but i've heard this can be bad for a computer. is this true?
also.. with leaving it on does it make electricity bill sky rocket or doesn't it make too much of a difference.

Hades · 23 May 2013 at 18:17

Off for me.

Skillmister · 23 May 2013 at 18:20

I put mine on sleep overnight. Haven't shut it down in 17 days now.

G.s Glazing · 23 May 2013 at 18:21

I keep off too, it has to save money.
Not sure about harm to computer by swiching on and off though.

Shawy · 23 May 2013 at 18:23

I turn mine off.

Running Linux I think it's best to leave it on if you can. Think of it like a car, when is it most likely to break down - when you're driving along the motorway or when you first start it up in the morning?
It wouldn't make too much of a difference to your bill. Modern hardware has pretty good power saving features when idle. If you're folding or something it's another story.

scottmorley · 23 May 2013 at 18:26

yeah i can't see how it would cause damage myself.
it's nothing bad obviously, just that over a long period of time it can cause problems always being turned on and off.
but saying that.. i did read it off the internet so could be a load of rubbish lol.

Glaucus · 23 May 2013 at 18:27

Off, with stupidly quick boot times, then I don't see any reason to leave it on.

FishFluff · 23 May 2013 at 18:28

My iMac is pretty much always on standby.

Edit: Just checked the uptime, 35 days.

ThundyCat · 23 May 2013 at 18:29

Skillmister said:
I put mine on sleep overnight. Haven't shut it down in 17 days now.

May I ask why you don't shut it down?

scottmorley · 23 May 2013 at 18:29

well starting a car is the most damaging thing for it, so if same rules apply to a computer then it must be true lol.

Skillmister · 23 May 2013 at 18:35

ThundyCat said:
May I ask why you don't shut it down?

Takes forever to boot up. Even longer to actually feel useable. Even longer to open all the programs i need. Started accumulating open tabs after a couple of days doing it and now i've got so many i can't be bothered to sort them out so i'm blackmailed into not shutting down

ThundyCat · 23 May 2013 at 18:40

Skillmister said:
Takes forever to boot up. Even longer to actually feel useable. Even longer to open all the programs i need. Started accumulating open tabs after a couple of days doing it and now i've got so many i can't be bothered to sort them out so i'm blackmailed into not shutting down

SSD drive for the win Mr Skillmister. Faster boot times.

TommyV · 23 May 2013 at 18:42

off, and plug off at the wall

Skillmister · 23 May 2013 at 18:42

ThundyCat said:
SSD drive for the win Mr Skillmister. Faster boot times.

Yup. It's been on my list for a while but alas, life. (and who needs faster boot times when i'm instantly at log in screen like this?!

)

ci_newman · 23 May 2013 at 19:35

TommyV said:
off, and plug off at the wall

Same for me too. I've been doing it since forever and have never had any problems. Saves electricity too

badcompany · 23 May 2013 at 19:38

Used to leave on but with cost of power now I tend to sleep mode some others are off since I got a pi is on v24/7 as a gateway I can wake whatever PC I want from wherever I need it.

Kishywish · 23 May 2013 at 19:41

Ever since the ssd upgrade, I've turned the computer off. And at the switch too. I'm glad I'm not alone there.

RJC · 23 May 2013 at 19:43

Switch off.

Rozzy85 · 23 May 2013 at 19:47

Always off, such a waste to just leave it on idling. Will only leave it on if I want it to record something when I'm out. I'd probably use sleep but when I do my computer will either not come out of it properly or the TV card won't initialise.

tribz · 23 May 2013 at 19:52

Switching it off an on a daily basis will cause it no harm. Leaving it on might cost you around £70-100 a year though in elecy costs.