Should I........?

bluenose1940

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Not sure where I should have posted this, hopefully it will be OK

At the moment I leave my computer switched on 24/7/365 except if I go away for a few days, and so my question is, should be doing this?

Apart from having a higher electricity bill, is this detrimental to the machine, standalone drives, printers etc?
 
It's mostly a matter of preference. It doesn't harm anything to leave your computer running 24/7/365. Some may even argue that it's better to leave on since it's harder on the system to power up and power down then it is to leave on.

I leave my main desktop on all the time, have the monitor set to blank out which saves some electricity. I've been doing this for quite a few years without issue.

At work, we have hundreds of machines (servers and desktops) that never get turned off, doesn't seem to bother them at all.
 
Thank you strollin, you've put my mind at ease. I do have the system set up to 'go to sleep' as it were Thanks again.
 
I have mine on all the time. Doesn't seem to bother it.
The way I see it if you leave it on you're just avoiding the surge when you turn it on.

If you're going to leave it on get a UPS. API makes some good ones that don't break the bank.
 
It naturally reduces the life of the components, but such a thing is no of concern unless you plan to keep all components alive for like 10 years straight, or maybe more. That of course if everything is within standards.

Those standards include having a good ventilation in the case of the computer so heat does not degrade the parts faster than they can take it, making sure no electrical surges happen, and having a reasonable ambient temperature that could affect internal parts. Like this, even extra heavy use could be acceptable for extended periods of time.
 
I leave my desktop on all the time. The only issues I've ever experienced were fan failures (more-so bearing failures, they never actually stopped moving). This had less to do with leaving it on all the time and more to do with the fact that I usually forgot to blow out the dust quarterly like I had planned.

I agree with Seti about a UPS battery backup. APC also makes some decent products. Just be sure whatever UPS you get works with your computer's power supply. Some UPS units are designed to only work with Passive PFCs vs Active PFCs.
 
The only time you really should turn it off is to clean the dust out of it. Other than that running is better than not running.
 
Thank you for all the input folks, much appreciated. I now leave it on all the time with a little more peace of mind.

I do also give it a light blast from my compressor from time to time, it's amazing how much dust accumulates!

Thanks again.
 
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