Turning computer off or leaving it on standby?

af_thefragile

Is it better to shut down the computer every time after you've finished using it or just leave it on stand by?

I've seen a lot of people just leave their computer on standby every time they're not using it and never shut down their computer...

So what do you say is better for the computer to shut it down or leave it on standby?

starlit

Best to turn it off completely rather than leave it on stand by as the computer might still overheat and overpowering the fan could lead it to fail even though the actual computer is turned off its still on standby. A computer will use up electricity the same as a plasma tv so best to turn it off. When its on standby its still powered. Better for the computer to be turned off. It best not to let wires and plugs still plug in/on cause if you got thunder and lightening it could cut out the power to your computer and could cause an electric shock, over powering the plug/socket could cause it to overheat and cause a spark and an electric shock so for safety for you and your computer is best to turn it off completely!

ScumLord

doovdela wrote: »

Best to turn it off completely rather than leave it on stand by as the computer might still overheat and overpowering the fan could lead it to fail even though the actual computer is turned off its still on standby.

This is news to me, I've never seen a computer spinning it's fans in stand by. But then I suppose it depends on what OS your using I would assume windows 7 and new equipment is as close to off as it needs to be. T

It best not to let wires and plugs still plug in/on cause if you got thunder and lightening it could cut out the power to your computer and could cause an electric shock, over powering the plug/socket could cause it to overheat and cause a spark and an electric shock so for safety for you and your computer is best to turn it off completely!

The way around all this is to use a uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to protect your PC from power cuts and power surges. If your PC is important you should have one of these it's saved me many times and I wouldn't be without one.

I've never encountered any problems leaving a PC on. Servers are on 24/7 unless something goes wrong.

ShooterSF

I prefer to hibernate my machine tbh.

af_thefragile

ScumLord wrote: »

I've never encountered any problems leaving a PC on. Servers are on 24/7 unless something goes wrong.

But most servers run on xenon processors which are designed to run 24/7 isn't it?

Fluffy88

There's no doubt that turning off your PC will be better for it. The question is, how much better it is to do! There's not a huge benefit to be gained from turning off your PC all the time but it is adviseable to do it every so often.

Personally I do it every night unless I have good reason not too. There isn't a huge time difference is startup times and it will give all your compenents some rest as well as clear out your RAM and stuff like that. But large companies leave their PC's on all the time and they still work so it shouldn't kill your PC but it might have some effects.

ScumLord

af_thefragile wrote: »

But most servers run on xenon processors which are designed to run 24/7 isn't it?

I would have thought all processors could run solidly for a particular amount of time. I'm sure the commercial Zeons have a big advantage over consumer chips like the i series but electronics don't have wear as a moving part would so technically they should be able to go for decades. Most PCs become redundant before they break down.

af_thefragile

Wouldn't the heat generated by the electricity flowing through the circuits not sort of cause wear?

ScumLord

af_thefragile wrote: »

Wouldn't the heat generated by the electricity flowing through the circuits not sort of cause wear?

Depends how hot it gets I guess, but I've talked to an electrical engineer who reckons electronics could go indefinitely under the right circumstances. Although he was talking about the kind of electronics in cars or that might control the heating in your house. Computers are on the cutting edge and maybe not so reliable.

moomooman

Anything I've read on the subject says that the most stressful time for your components is at power up, thats the most significant moment for wear and tear as the juice flows and they go from cold to operating temperature. This would only be a significant factor if you plan on keeping your computer for 20 years and dont want it to wear out.

Leaving it running is not harmful but will consume the working life of components like fans, but any modern PC is capable of automatically shutting down in the event of a fan failure on the CPU or elsewhere, but you need to check the CMOS setup to check if that function is enabled.

Personally I shut it off when going to bed so I dont have to listen to it.