OT: Should computers stay on constantly?

[Renegade 13]

I've heard many different things from different sources, but I'd like to hear what you knowledgable people think

Should computers be left constantly running, with only the occasional reboot? Or should the computer be turned off frequently when not in use, like overnight?

Which option will extend the life of the components to the maximum?

[Colonel]

I just set the computer to hibernate so I dont have to load up windows again. Also you wanna keep it off because it uses electric, it like a light turn it off when you leave the room, unless you are doing something with it.

[Captain Kwok]

I tend to turn my computer off overnight about 50% of the time. Otherwise I just have the monitor/harddrive go to sleep after 30min of non-use.

[Fyron]

If you leave it on all the time, it will not shorten the actual lifespan of the hardware. The parts will tend to break down after the same amount of hours of operation either way. It will shorten the perceived lifespan in terms of absolute years in that fewer measured days will pass before parts tend to break. However, by the time it starts to die in either case, it will be highly obselete and in need of replacement anyways. In either case, your computer parts will probably last for many years, assuming you do not abuse them. Keep them cool, don't overclock them, etc.

[Kevin Arisa]

I rarely turn mine off. Only if I am going to be gone all day or if I go on a trip or something. I do a nightly system scan, virus check, and restart but thats about it. It does eat electricity but mine has a power save mode that comes on after an hour of inactivity. I think modern computers are designed to stay on.

[Thermodyne]

It is really a mater of choice with newer systems so long as the power settings are configured properly. But since dormant electronic devices consume >10% of the electricity generated (USA) it would be greener if you shut it down.

[Xrati]

It's better to shut it down. You save energy (no matter how little) and you get a memory wipe (you start fresh) along with the elimination of some background processes terminated, clearing up more memory! [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/icon07.gif[/img]

[Fyron]

Memory management isn't really much of a problem in 2k/xp. Rebooting every day doesn't help memory usage much, if any. It takes a few weeks before problems start cropping up.

[Renegade 13]

So basically, the only real reason to turn it off is to save electricity, and perhaps to prolong the life of components (though likely to be obsolete before death anyways).

In that case I guess I'll just shut her off at night, leave on all day unless I'm not going to be around.

One more question: Do repeated shut downs/reboots lessen the life of components?

[Suicide Junkie]

A good power supply should be gentle on power-up.

When booting, your hard disk is really used heavily to load everything...
But unless you're rebooting every 5 minutes it won't matter.