Turning PC On/Off

WingZero30

WingZero30

WingZero30

Soldato
Joined
1 Jun 2010
Posts
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Bedford
Hi Guys,

I have been reading this forum for a while now and its great and very informative:). I have a query which I would like to address in my first post. Just recently I built my first PC and I am using Belkin SurgeMaster F9M820UK4M 8 way surge protector. Every time I turn on my PC I use the following procedure:

-Turn on the surge protector from the wall socket
-Switch on the button on the surge protector
-Turn on the PSU (OCZ ModXstream 600W)
-Turn on the speakers control pod (Logitech X-210 2.1 Speakers)
-Finally turn on my PC

When turning off my PC, the procedure is reversed. My brother also uses the same surge protector; however when he needs to turn on his PC he just presses the power button on his case. So he doesn't turn off psu or the surge protector.
Now my dillemma is which one is safer method. I am worried that if I keep switching on and off; it might affect the components in my PC in the long run:confused:. I would really appreciate your help. Thanks.
 
i have always just used the on/off button on my case and have never had a problem with it.if i know i will not switch it on for a long time eg weekend away/holiday i will turn it off at the plug
 
Thanks for replys. If I just press the power button to turn on/off the PC and leave everything else on, how much electricity is going to be consumed that way?
 
I just use Sleep. Uses barely any more power than if it was shut-down completely, and it means I have a working PC about 4 seconds after turning it on. The impact in terms of cost on my electricity bill will be minimal at best, really.

I've never bothered turning off the PSU or the surge protector or anything like that. Granted, you may save a tiny bit of energy but it's just an inconvenience really; I want my PC to be available quickly when needed, so faffing about with 4 different switches doesn't make sense.
 
I only have a netbook :p but i have a surge protector and have my monitor,tv,ps3,speakers,external hard drive all plugged in and when im finished with my pc just turn them off at power button no need to turn it off at wall etc....You will save basically nothing
 
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I turn off the PC then I off at the wall socket. That way it's just as safe with 2 switches (then again, My wall switch is right next to my seat :P
I would always off at the wall though to save the energy (smaller bills always help lol)
 
Howitzer said:
I turn off the PC then I off at the wall socket. That way it's just as safe with 2 switches (then again, My wall switch is right next to my seat :P
I would always off at the wall though to save the energy (smaller bills always help lol)
Click to expand...

If I use this method, wouldn't it endanger the PC components as you are turning on from wall socket and that immediately puts pressure on the PSU as it is on already. I say this because once my mum swapped my brother surge protector socket around and turned it on; although I don't know full details it still managed to fry my brother's old mobo and since then he doesn't turn off the surge protector from wall socket.
 
Turning the PC off at the wall is draining the cmos battery faster, as normally when the PC os off, but still getting mains power, the real time clock and cmos/bios chip are being powered by the PSU's 5v SB.

A lithium button cell can easily last 5-10 years with the PC permanantly powered, that can drop as low as 2 years if the PC is unplugged most of its life. The PC should only use 1-2 watts of power when its shutdown, as long as your not using S3 sleep/hibernate to ram. When the battery gets critically low, there is a chance of cmos corruption, at which point you need to do a battery out cmos clear, and fit a new battery.

S3 sleep (to ram) uses around 15-30W depending on how much ram you have, S3 to disk really no more than fully off.
 
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I don't think it makes much difference either way. I just turn off my PC via the software switch on the PC itself letting it close down but don't touch any of the hardware plugs/sockets unless I'm going away for more than 3- 4 days.

Been doing this with various machines for over 10 years now without any problems. leave everything turned on one night each week so that all my anti-virus apps can update and run + windows can update itself once a month through the night.

I have my monitor set to screen-saver after 30 minutes of non use then 30 mins later monitor turns off, this is through the day only though as I seem to use my PC most of the day with short breaks but it just saves a bit of juice if I pop out and forget to turn monitor off. with monitor turned off and PC ticking over it's only using a few watts of power and certainly nothing to worry about cost wise or damage to the ozone. :D
 
TheVoice said:
I just use Sleep. Uses barely any more power than if it was shut-down completely, and it means I have a working PC about 4 seconds after turning it on. The impact in terms of cost on my electricity bill will be minimal at best, really.

I've never bothered turning off the PSU or the surge protector or anything like that. Granted, you may save a tiny bit of energy but it's just an inconvenience really; I want my PC to be available quickly when needed, so faffing about with 4 different switches doesn't make sense.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I do. Why the op feels the need to go through the OCD cycle he does is beyond me :D
Life is far too short (or I am just too impatient) to be waiting for pc's to boot up and shut down:D
 
widdyst said:
Exactly what I do. Why the op feels the need to go through the OCD cycle he does is beyond me :D
Life is far too short (or I am just too impatient) to be waiting for pc's to boot up and shut down:D
Click to expand...

Looking at your rig, surely it can't take -that- long to boot up :p

And shutting down, just click twice and walk away from the computer, hardly taxing on your schedule :D
 
OP I do the exact same thing as you and I have done for a few years now. The reason I do it is because my switch is on the same surge protector as my main PC, it gets really really hot to the touch and I'm a wee bit worried it may burst into flames while I'm tucked up in bed.

Switching it all on/off everyday for years has done no noticeable damage and isn't really an inconvenience when switching it all back on again, it takes a few minutes at best.
 
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