How often do you turn the CPU off?

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gascap

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It's always been one of those little nit-picky things in the back of my mind.

Thanks!
 
Everytime I walk away from the machine for more than an hour.
 
Never. Mine is up 24/7 unless I need to change a connection or lift/restore the grounds.
 
HA!

That's great!

Track and Senn have crystalized my puzzlement.

I wonder if it's like a car or fluorescent light - takes much more energy to start up than to just leave on (Sennheiser's approach)

On the other hand, on-all-the-time (Like Track Rat) would seem to be an undue tax on things.

Anyone else? Maybe this should be a poll.

Thanks.
 
Of all of the places I've worked that had computers none were ever turned off and none ever required service.

Usually if there was not a screen saver running, the monitor would be turned off to prevent burning the phosphorus on the tube.

My computer is around three years old and I've never had any trouble with it having it on 24/7.

Besides, I have maintenance programs that run at various times automatically.
 
I guess I'm in the middle of that road. I'll shut down if it's going to be idle for more than a day.

Bootup does cause more wear & tear than being left on - that's fairly well known. But the flip side is energy usage (I'm a tight-wad), and the possibility of a fan dying (meltdown city).
 
My logic is based on my particular setup. If I leave my studio, I kill power to the entire room. No chance of nasties following the mains in to damage anything that way.
 
agree with trackrat.
Its all on for the day if i'm gonna be using it.

whenever i'm done - whole room power goes off and unplugged.
 
Leaving the machine on without working on it is for me just a wast of energy!
Give us another 15 years and we go back to acoustic again.
 
For long term use I never power off, I just have my screensaver and power saver set to start after a short time. But for overnight or longer I shut down the room :)
 
eh

yea, 24/7 is the standard. I reboot when i need to reboot, and shut down for short periods of time when i need to work on it or replace a board. But shutting down and starting up is generally bad for it. The heating and cooling of the boards and chips is not good for it, and if its done too quickly, and it gets TOO hot then TOO cold, things can crack. I wouldn't worry about it, i think this is more like if you are running it way too hot, then you shut it down, throw it in the freezer for a few minutes, then boot it up again and run it way too hot right away. But the best idea is to leave it running all the time, i just turn off my speakers and my monitor when im not using it, and i you really worried about energy you can put the computer into standby mode... hmm. i never use that, maybe i should.
 
Shutting a PC down was rumored to be bad for it many years ago. I don't know if it was true then but it's really not very true now. There is logic behind it, of course, but for all practical purposes, your better off saving power by shutting the machine down...especially when the power saving features of most machines often lead to instability....and machines draw a lot more now it seems. I've got 6 machines running at my house and they really suck the juice anymore.

I can honestly say that after turning dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of machines on and off every single day for years and years, that no harm is done.

I think some cause for alarm is in that a lot of problem show themselves on startup, especially hard drive problems. Not ever turning a machine off is not an end-all solution though :)

That said, it doesn't hurt to leave a machine on 24/7, as long as you're running a UPS.

Slackmaster 2000
 
I'm convinced that the major issue with shutting off your system is the cooling of the components and the increased chance of moisture condensing on components like connectors, which can cause corrosion and eventual connective failure.
 
My main fear of leaving it on 24/7 is having a fan go out on me. It's happened to me at work before, and to my in-law's computer. Overheating can and does cook CPU's. Installing extra case fans would be a nice insurance policy, but the extra noise would create it's own problems.

I've heard both sides of the leave-it-on vs. shut-it-down debate for the past 10 years, and I have yet to come to a concrete conclusion. :D
 
At work we never turn them off... I would say my PIII has been on constantly for about 2 years...

The occasional Re-boot, when things go funny.


At home, my Pro Tools computer is always on.... Except for when Im away for the weekend at the cottage...

And the only reason it is off is that I'm worried about fires....


Fan goes out, computer overheats, wires melt, shorts out, catches onto desk...... etc...

Ok that is extremely far fetched, but I have had power supplies smoking before......

Luckily I was there when it happened.

Shut it off, intsalled new one...



But, I really fear what might happen if Im not there and that happens again...


Very, rare.... and remote chance of happening, but anythings possible.
 
I've had power supplies burn up and fans quit on me overnight as well. Not pretty! Rare though.

Slackmaster 2000
 
It is pretty rare - I guess I should just get over it. It probably has something to do with my obsessive compulsive disorder (did I shut the iron off this morning?)

:D
 
Mine stays on all the time. Unless I leave the house for, like a weekend or a vacation. I do that for the same reasons vox mentioned; fear of fire.
Years ago, we were told that every time you boot that hard drive, you take the chance of any number of bad things happening to it, don't know if thats really true or not.
I leave it on out of habit. I do turn off the monitors though. :)
 
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