Do you leave your computer on 24/7?

I've started leaving my computer on 24/7, it's so much better.

The benefits are amazing.

SETI can crunch several WU's throughout the night, and if you go to school or work it can crunch even more. All that time would have been wasted if your PC was off. You can also download a ton of huge files.

It helps your computer too. Turning off your computer a lot can actually wear it out.

I recommend everyone leave their computer on all the time. It doesn't use much more power than if you left it off. Plus you can get lots more WU's in. The only thing you need to remember is to turn off the monitor when you are done with it for the day.

I don't leave it on on. I always put it on standby when I'm not using my computer.

my god man..your just realising this now??

I don't run SETI@home but I do leave my PC on 24/7.

For starters turning it on and off is taxing on the hardware and also your monitor is the main source of power use, but if you are really into energy conservation a standby or power saving setting can help.

If you use window you may need to restart now and then since it tends to build up errors with time but thats no big deal.

A linux system can run indeffinitly, and i have no idea about Mac operation systems being left on.

Turning off a computer is basicly meant for when it need moved or repaired/upgraded. I know a lot of people treat it like a TV and only turn it on when they use it, and while this save a little on power consuption it really shortens the life of your hardware.

I always leave my computer on 24/7.

I only restart it when i have to install new updates and drivers.

with windows you get used to restarting weekly at least, and thats a system with loads of on board memory...my linux computer has half the memory as the laptop I am using, and 1/4 the memory of our other PC both running XP, we restart the XPs all the time, while the Linux computer is commonly up for months at a time without ever restarting.

Yeah I run it 24/7 mostly, seti, dls, etc.

Shortek,

yeah my experience too. Also consider the heating of your processor and the burn in of your monitor. There are pros and cons in this issue.

Does SETI work in stand by mode?

I doubt it does...

Originally posted by OzChris
my god man..your just realising this now??

A lot of people still don't realize they can leave their PC's on all the time. Why, I'm not sure.

EliteXizer, you are correct in your discovery. Computers themselves use very little power at all. Most power usage will actually come from the monitor rather than the PC itself and even that isn't much. The power saving features found in today's computers are very advanced and will not amount to much in terms of an Electricity Bill. Even without using 'standby, suspend, etc.' or even monitor sleep modes, the power usage is minimal compared to any other appliance in your house. The only exception of course would be a laptop which is using battery power only, but that should be obvious to anyone who has used a laptop for a while.

Hi all!!

Both my machines are on 24/7. SETI Monitor caches WU's in case the SETI@home server is "down" and I manually connect at the next opportunity to upload previous results and download the deficiet to the cache once again.

Both machines run Win XP which is "remarkably" stable (for a Win O/S!! ). BSOD's (common on Win 95 and 98) are athing of the past... Until the *next* time, of course!!

I talked to a computer expert about this and he said its like this, "Do you think your car is gonna last longer if you run it 24/7"? He said the computer is just like anything else it wears out if you leave it on all the time. I do know my friend and me bought the exact same computer system at about the same time. She went through three monitors leaving hers on all the time, her computer no longer works, mine still works and with the same monitor.

The powering up and powering down each time would wear it out. Someone A+ certified said that a pc will last longer if you leave it on. I leave both of my pcs on 24/7.

If you check this link out you can weigh up the pros and cons of leaving your PC off or on

www.tvdsb.on.ca...

there is also a lot of other good advice about other aspects of maintaining your system.

Originally posted by goose
I talked to a computer expert about this and he said its like this, "Do you think your car is gonna last longer if you run it 24/7"? He said the computer is just like anything else it wears out if you leave it on all the time. I do know my friend and me bought the exact same computer system at about the same time. She went through three monitors leaving hers on all the time, her computer no longer works, mine still works and with the same monitor.

Did she remember to turn off her monitor when she was done using it? That's an important rule - don't turn off the computer, but do turn off the monitor.

Originally posted by goose
I talked to a computer expert about this and he said its like this, "Do you think your car is gonna last longer if you run it 24/7"? He said the computer is just like anything else it wears out if you leave it on all the time....

Hi goose!!

My own particular take on this is - in line with Moores Law - I try to update ie "change" my oldest machine after about two years use anyway ie NOT that I'm "made of money" but simply you can get a machine that's twice as powerful for the same type of outlay every 18months/ two years and, as computing is a BIG hobby of mine, I consider anything over two years old to be rather "limited" in scope anyway .... Here's to 5Ghz processors in 18 months time, eh?!!

I leave it on for atleast 18 hours a day.

My home computer has Netzero (10 hours free per month) so I don't leave it on all the time. I would not anyway though as someone could hack into it. Gotta keep that file of porn secure!

This thread was a plaeasant surpirse. I thought it was gonna be another BS thread.
Thanks for all the info, and esp the PC Guide site.
I had no idea turning them off was so bad. Now I know one of the reasons we only turned the PC at work off on Friday.

I leave my PC on for at least 12 hrs a day. So, turn off the monitor ant night; leave the tower on 24/7.
I have a high-quality surge protector on, anyhho, but no UPS.

Another perhaps dumb question: is leaviang the PC on 24/7 really optimum for cable connections, as the firewall is inactive when the PC is off, even though you are still connected?
Or, is this another weird thing I think I know??????

Yeah, I leave it on most of the time, as I'm always downloading something or defragmenting my hard drives.

I have a always-on high speed connection protected by a hardware router/firewall, and I don't see why hackers would be interested in my comp anyway, so I'm not worried. And anyway, if someone would get in my PC, I would notice it almost right away.

Altho, if I were really parano, I'd configure the IDS to e-mail me at work & send me a txt message on my cell-phone as soon as an intrusion would be detected, but in my current situation, I really don't think I need that. Home PCs are rarely a target for hackers. They are usually target for script kiddies.