to leave on or to not leave on, that is the question

Red-SquirrelRed-Squirrel Ontario, Canada
edited January 2004 in Hardware
There seems to be lot of conspiricies about leaving on the computer 24/7 like I do, and shutting it down every night, or when not used for a while.

I heard the fact that going on and off causes thermal expansion because of heat so it ends up wiggling everything loose, but I also heard that leaving it on causes thermal expansion that keeps growing and ends up wigling it out as well.

Which one is right?

Once in a while I will shut down my computer to give it a night of cooling down, is this a good thing or a bad thing to do? I assume it's good but with all the conspiricies I don't know anymore. :D

Comments

  • verselloversello New
    edited January 2004
    I highly doubt that even if turning on/off or leaving your PC on 24/7 causes thermal expansion, it's probably so miniscule that it would take centuries for a screw to popout or the CPU to dislodge from its socket.

    With that aside, the common perception is that turning a PC on/off causes wear and tear on components (and the power button itself).

    I leave my notebook's on all the time :)
  • stoopidstoopid Albany, NY New
    edited January 2004
    #1 stress on electrical components - expansion and contraction due to heating/cooling.

    I personally believe that desktop and workstation PCs are better left on at either idle or 100%, this creates a uniform temperature in all the working components. The powering on and off creates stress on the cpu, motherboard, ram, and powersupply... well, just about anything that gets a little hot from use...

    The only exception are laptops (whose generated heat is so great it will inevitably lead to thermal breakdown of numerous components because of poor cooling), harddrives, and cd/dvd writers. These items contain mechanical parts that wear out from use and any heat (motors).

    It's a toss up -- leave it on and running hot and lose a few hours of life to the constant (but uniform) heat, or lose more hours to the stress of switching the components on/off and thermally stressing them.
  • citrixmetacitrixmeta Montreal, Quebec Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    yes! everyone must leave their pc on 24/7!! and fold for 33693!!!

    NOW!!! :D
  • ZuntarZuntar North Carolina Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Originally posted by stoopid
    ......PCs are better left on at either idle or 100%, this creates a uniform temperature in all the working components. The powering on and off creates stress on the cpu, motherboard, ram, and powersupply.....
    ........It's a toss up -- leave it on and running hot and lose a few hours of life to the constant (but uniform) heat, or lose more hours to the stress of switching the components on/off and thermally stressing them. [/B]

    Ditto on these points. I work in a semiconductor plant, mainly in cleanrooms, most of our equipment cost between $100K and $1,000K. The number one killer is voltage spikes from the powering up and down of electronics. However dust and dirt cause more problems from overheating in most PC's.

    Nice plug citrix:p
  • Red-SquirrelRed-Squirrel Ontario, Canada
    edited January 2004
    So the bottom line is, either way, it will take a LONG time for it to actually damage, but the greater chance is when it's turned on and off. So the turning off I do once a month or so, or when there's a power outage (like maybe twice a year not even) is not really a bad thing then.

    I don't fold, but I crunch for UD. I sort of "have" to, I'm the captain of the team. :D To me crunching for any DC project is more important then having a firewall (assuming there's a router firewall anyway). It's one of the first things I install when I reinstall windows. :D
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    You can turn computers off?
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited January 2004
    My laptop at work I normally turn off everyday because the buggers get hot also just saves hyrdo.

    My home computer I usually power cycle it at least once every few days again hydro but also just seems to work better after a periodical reboot. It flushes the ram cache etc...etc...
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited January 2004
    Good one prime.

    IF you leave it on you wont have to wait for it to boot.

    And by the time something may wear out because its been on all the time you will be dieing for something better. So leave it on and fold away.
  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    i've left my computers on for like 6 years or something, they still haven't exploded. i don't understand how people can stand to wait for the damn things to boot
  • rapturerapture
    edited January 2004
    Most of us upgrade too often to actually wear parts out so I really wouldnt worry about it. But if you really want to put your mind at rest then FOLD! weeee!
  • citrixmetacitrixmeta Montreal, Quebec Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    ya booting... wayyy overrated
    Originally posted by kanezfan
    i've left my computers on for like 6 years or something, they still haven't exploded. i don't understand how people can stand to wait for the damn things to boot
  • AcidicDreamsAcidicDreams Oregon
    edited January 2004
    I agree on all the KEEP them ON! posts... but seriously... IT DOESN'T MATTER! I've seen people who've had there's on for years (ie ME! unless I'm moving.. then it's the last thing moved and first set up) and others who turn them off every night... both work fine after years... though if your running anything like WIN98 shutting it down at night will keep windows from slowly eating all your memory up and slowing things down... WIN98 is like 1 giant memory leak! AHHH WIN98 SUX!... sorry for that outburst. In anycase it doesn't really matter.. especially from a hardware standpoint
  • timinatortiminator PA
    edited January 2004
    it doesnt take too long to boot if you use hibernate instead.

    i only turn mine off becuase my room is miniscule and the stupid comp heats it up quick, and i hate heat
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