pc on 24/7

[damindor]

do you think a normal cheap dual core pc can be on 24/7/365?

I read something that turning pc on and off is actually bad for the hardware

[Lilrich]

do you think a normal cheap dual core pc can be on 24/7/365?

I read something that turning pc on and off is actually bad for the hardware

Yes it will be fine.

Turning the computer on and off constantly can reduce the hard disks life.

[tsupersonic]

Yes, a PC can stay on as long as the user wants it to. Just give it proper ventilation, perform routine maintenance, and you're good to go.

I recommend sleep, it's a nice compromise between leaving the computer on and shutting it down. The one downside is it retains everything in RAM, thus if you lose power, it can be problematic (but it should be ok 99% of the times).

[watkinsx2]

Leaving it on 24/7 will be bad for your electricity bill.

[Detection]

Leaving it on 24/7 will be bad for your electricity bill.

Yup, I worked that one out after getting a huge first electric bill when I moved into this house

[damindor]

OK thank you

[NewGuy123]

Would you let your car running on idle 24/7 ?

[+BudMan MVC]

^ not sure I would call it a huge increase in elec bill. But sure its going to cost you a few extra quid.

Do the math, and NO you can not just look at the wattage of your power supply and say well guess it uses 600watts... That is what the power supply is rated for, not what the PC draws 99.99999% your using it.

So as I type this post, I look down at my ups and drawing .065 kilowatts, if I turn off the monitor it drops to .040. So do the math, my monitor turns off in 5 minutes of idle time.. Don't forget that depending on how long you use your computer comes into play here you should only count the extra cost of not turning it off.

Lets say you only use the computer for 2 hours a day, mines more like 18 ;) But lets say its a normal person couple of hours a day usage. Now turn off your monitor for sure. Mine drops to 40 watts, so X my cost of elec which is about .125 kwh x 22 hours a day = (.04*.125*22) = $0.11 a day to keep my machine on when not using it. x 30 = $3.3 dollars extra a month if I only used my computer for 2 hours a day and left it on the rest of the time.

That extra cost goes way down depending on how much time you actually use your machine. But don't think $3 is going to break anyone, nor would I call that a huge increase in elec bill.

Sure you could use standby which would lower it way more!!! But every now and then by box has issues coming out of standby, not worth the hassle for a couple of bucks a month.

Now I show the cost in the UK for elec a bit higher than here in Chicagoland, I show 0.175 vs my 12.5 cents. So cost you what less than 5 quid??

Yes leaving any elec on when not used is going to cost you, but do the math!! Your more than likely taking cents not dollars.. I would really suggest you pick up a killawatt meter and look to see exactly what something uses in elec.

btw, here is what I am talking about for a killawatt meter, it allows you to plug in any device that uses elec and monitor how much it uses over time, right at the moment, etc. So you could let it run for a few days while you use your computer and get an exact figure for how much it cost per day.

http://www.p3interna...0/P4400-CE.html

for example its been plugged into my N40L for quite some time, this is my NAS, my router, linux box and a bunch of other VMs that I play and test with. It is on 24/7/365 for SURE!! So far 6632 hours its been on and used 372 Kwh, So 6632 hours = 276.333 days, now in that time it has used 372KWH or 372/276 = 1.34 Kwh per day. So x my 0.125 cost per kwh = 0.1675 cents a day to run.. X 30 = 5 bucks! Cost of cup of coffee or a beer at local pub. I don't see how this is going to be breaking anyone's bank??

Now maybe you got some crazy supped up machine that idles using 300Watts? Then ok you might want to look why that is -- a killawatt is great tool to have if your looking to understand the cost of running different elec items. Or whole home unit as well, I have meter that gives me what the total draw of the house is at any given moment, and logs it over time, etc.. right now the house is drawing 684 watts.. Man does that spike up when running all the appliances, got elec stove/oven -- most everything is elec. So I clearly understand keeping an eye out for what your using.. But sorry leaving a pc on is not going to be the biggest waste in the house.

[Guth]

Would you let your car running on idle 24/7 ?

if it were properly maintained and was properly cooled by its water and fans and properly lubricated then it wouldnt be a problem.

I saw on TV in some very cold countries people left their cars/lorries running 24/7 or else everything would freeze up and they wouldnt start. (the newer models had a small heater that circulated warm water)

[NewGuy123]

if it were properly maintained and was properly cooled by its water and fans and properly lubricated then it wouldnt be a problem.

A car on idle 24/7 at 900RPM is nothing compared to a long motorway journey at 3000RPM.

But would you ? No, because you know that it is not good for a system to be "active" 24/7.

My point is that you shouldn't let your pc run :

It saves the life time of your pc AND

Less current consumption.

Sleep mode is a good idea though.

[Guth]

But would you ? No, because you know that it is not good for a system to be "active" 24/7.

no I probably wouldn't leave my car on 247 no.

Although I do leave my PC on 24/7, current up time is 6 days. And thats only because of a reboot.

Cars and PCs are different. A car has A LOT of moving parts, bearings etc. Pistons, Valves, Rockers, Fans, Belts to name a few

[nekkidtruth]

Realistically, there's no reason to really turn a computer off in this day and age. Unless your CPU/GPU are running at 100% load 24/7, it should be barely noticeable on your electricity bill. I have 4 machines that run 24/7. One of them is in the living room and used probably 2-18 hours out of the day. Factor in my dishwasher and the lights that are used, my bill is never over $60/month. Hell, the air conditioner in the summer bumped it up to $90/month. If your PC is making such a significant difference in your bill, something isn't working properly.

As for hardware...Personally, I've found hardware tends to fail more frequently when a machine is turned on and off. I replace GPU's, RAM, CPU's and motherboards like crazy on friends/family machines. Most of them are people who turn their machines off every day. I got literally years before having to replace some of those things on my machines that run 24/7.

[NewGuy123]

no I probably wouldn't leave my car on 247 no.

Although I do leave my PC on 24/7, current up time is 6 days. And thats only because of a reboot.

Cars and PCs are different. A car has A LOT of moving parts, bearings etc. Pistons, Valves, Rockers, Fans, Belts to name a few

You are right, technically there are way more moving parts in a car.

But hey, it's just me! I don't let my computer run 24/7 and I had not a single failure in many many years.

[+DKAngel Subscriber²]

my pc has been runnign 24/7 for about 15yrs onyl gets switched of in house moving or power outages or rebuuilds

[Detection]

^ not sure I would call it a huge increase in elec bill. But sure its going to cost you a few extra quid.

Do the math, and NO you can not just look at the wattage of your power supply and say well guess it uses 600watts... That is what the power supply is rated for, not what the PC draws 99.99999% your using it.

So as I type this post, I look down at my ups and drawing .065 kilowatts, if I turn off the monitor it drops to .040. So do the math, my monitor turns off in 5 minutes of idle time.. Don't forget that depending on how long you use your computer comes into play here you should only count the extra cost of not turning it off.

Lets say you only use the computer for 2 hours a day, mines more like 18 ;) But lets say its a normal person couple of hours a day usage. Now turn off your monitor for sure. Mine drops to 40 watts, so X my cost of elec which is about .125 kwh x 22 hours a day = (.04*.125*22) = $0.11 a day to keep my machine on when not using it. x 30 = $3.3 dollars extra a month if I only used my computer for 2 hours a day and left it on the rest of the time.

That extra cost goes way down depending on how much time you actually use your machine. But don't think $3 is going to break anyone, nor would I call that a huge increase in elec bill.

Sure you could use standby which would lower it way more!!! But every now and then by box has issues coming out of standby, not worth the hassle for a couple of bucks a month.

Now I show the cost in the UK for elec a bit higher than here in Chicagoland, I show 0.175 vs my 12.5 cents. So cost you what less than 5 quid??

Yes leaving any elec on when not used is going to cost you, but do the math!! Your more than likely taking cents not dollars.. I would really suggest you pick up a killawatt meter and look to see exactly what something uses in elec.

btw, here is what I am talking about for a killawatt meter, it allows you to plug in any device that uses elec and monitor how much it uses over time, right at the moment, etc. So you could let it run for a few days while you use your computer and get an exact figure for how much it cost per day.

http://www.p3interna...0/P4400-CE.html

for example its been plugged into my N40L for quite some time, this is my NAS, my router, linux box and a bunch of other VMs that I play and test with. It is on 24/7/365 for SURE!! So far 6632 hours its been on and used 372 Kwh, So 6632 hours = 276.333 days, now in that time it has used 372KWH or 372/276 = 1.34 Kwh per day. So x my 0.125 cost per kwh = 0.1675 cents a day to run.. X 30 = 5 bucks! Cost of cup of coffee or a beer at local pub. I don't see how this is going to be breaking anyone's bank??

Now maybe you got some crazy supped up machine that idles using 300Watts? Then ok you might want to look why that is -- a killawatt is great tool to have if your looking to understand the cost of running different elec items. Or whole home unit as well, I have meter that gives me what the total draw of the house is at any given moment, and logs it over time, etc.. right now the house is drawing 684 watts.. Man does that spike up when running all the appliances, got elec stove/oven -- most everything is elec. So I clearly understand keeping an eye out for what your using.. But sorry leaving a pc on is not going to be the biggest waste in the house.

Gonna have to get me one of those meters then, I've always just assumed the PC was the biggest drain during the night because I know during the day the whole house uses around ?0.30p but with the PC on and using it normally (Yup around 18 hours too :) ) that jumps anywhere between ?1.00 to ?2.00 per day

We have a key meter for electric and gas, think of it as 'pay as you go' so you put ?10 on the key, stick it in the electric meter and it shows ?10 credit, every 15-30 mins that credit drops depending on what you use, so I get a fairly accurate idea of how much things cost

Example when we're cooking in an electric oven and hobs, its painful watching the money disappear from the meter

[Xoligy]

I know what you mean Detection im same on pay and go and british gas for electric i have been turning the computer off when i goto bed and setting utorrent to shut down the computer if its downloading over the past few months and noticed quite abit of electric being saved (imo) as you said its painful looking at that meter and it dont help that mines in the kitchen (looks over shoulder as he cooks and cringes lol) But sometimes i think the less electric i have the quicker it goes o.O lol

[+BudMan MVC]

Well different machines draw different power.. You got some supped up box with dual graphic cards with fans? Are you running something in the background that uses idle cpu so your at 100% all the time? Seti, Folding, etc..

A normal pc is not going to draw very much when not in use, and when use for surfing, posting, email, etc. Now playing some full screen graphics game, sure thats going to draw a bit more juice, etc.

Never heard of these pay as you go power, thats kind of kewl and crazy at the same time. Kind of a hassle having to refill it all the time, etc. And would kind of suck watching money just suck down the drain like that ;)

Pick up a killawatt if your interested in power usage.

[Xoligy]

MY pc is browsing, gaming movies, music and torrenting i don use seti or anything like that. Its only a Duel core so i dont play intense games wither more stratergy though the odd fps that does work ill play.

As for pay and go electric its all over britain, some people say its more expensive than doing direct debit or paying for what you used but for alot of households that struggle with money or are just crap at saving (like me) its the best option as you paid upfront. What happens if you run out? Well between 70p - ?1 it starts to beep and you can access emergency electric (or gas as youg et pay and go gas too) and that will loan you ?5 supply so you have time to get some more, topups are normally done in a shops and ?5 can last a few days depending on what you ahve running of cause.

[Detection]

Well different machines draw different power.. You got some supped up box with dual graphic cards with fans? Are you running something in the background that uses idle cpu so your at 100% all the time? Seti, Folding, etc..

A normal pc is not going to draw very much when not in use, and when use for surfing, posting, email, etc. Now playing some full screen graphics game, sure thats going to draw a bit more juice, etc.

Never heard of these pay as you go power, thats kind of kewl and crazy at the same time. Kind of a hassle having to refill it all the time, etc. And would kind of suck watching money just suck down the drain like that ;)

Pick up a killawatt if your interested in power usage.

Not a super high end machine but decent spec, and its generally just used for forums tbh, watching maybe one film a day connected to the TV, maybe as little as an hour of gaming per week

Definitely going to invest in one of those killawatt meters though

And yea the pay and go meters are exactly as you say, but the main reason for them is so you don't end up with a bill you can't pay at the end of the month / quarter, you very quickly learn to budget so you're not sat in the dark before you get paid again

Plus the pay points to top the keys up are generally at every shop you can think of, corner shops, garages, supermarkets, off-licences, so you're never far from somewhere if needs be, and if you are caught short when everywhere is closed, there is ?6.00 emergency credit on the key you can use and pay back next time you top up (Think of it as an overdraft lol )

Meter

Key

[neufuse Veteran]

Yes it will be fine.

Turning the computer on and off constantly can reduce the hard disks life.

yet the standard hard disk has a sleep mode which turns the spindle motor off..... same thing as turning the system off..

[Detection]

I know what you mean Detection im same on pay and go and british gas for electric i have been turning the computer off when i goto bed and setting utorrent to shut down the computer if its downloading over the past few months and noticed quite abit of electric being saved (imo) as you said its painful looking at that meter and it dont help that mines in the kitchen (looks over shoulder as he cooks and cringes lol) But sometimes i think the less electric i have the quicker it goes o.O lol

lol yea it does 100% lol, mine is in a little cupboard above the stairs and has a little personality of its own, it enjoys hanging on ?0.53p all evening so I can't put the emergency on and then soon as I get into bed.... beepbeepbeepbeepbeep

or

Makes me think there is loads of electric left, waits until its pitch black outside and I have no idea where my torch is, doesn't beep at all, and does the whole Terminator shutdown thing, Pewwww, blind, blind, where TF is the torch, where TF is the key, oww, oww :laugh:

[LaP]

Gonna have to get me one of those meters then, I've always just assumed the PC was the biggest drain during the night

These days a computer when idle takes pretty much nothing. I don't know how much wattage is used by a pc when idle but it's probably less than a light bulb. This is of course if the computer is properly configured to stop the HDs when not used, to turn off the monitor and to throttle down the cpu and gpu when idle.

[Detection]

These days a computer when idle takes pretty much nothing. I don't know how much wattage is used by a pc when idle but it's probably less than a light bulb. This is of course if the computer is properly configured to stop the HDs when not used, to turn off the monitor and to throttle down the cpu and gpu when idle.

That's probably one of the problems, I've got HDDs to stay on for 4 hours idle before spinning down, 1. for wear and tear of continuously having to spin back up every 10 minutes and 2. because I was sick of trying to open a folder and it hanging while it waited for the disk to spin up

Power savings are all disabled for the CPU too, & OCd but generally sits at 0% load while I`m here / browsing

It wouldn't cost less than one of my lightbulbs lol, I've fitted energy saving bulbs all over the house, its always the 1st thing I do when I move in somewhere, saves a fortune and they last forever

[Guth]

we have a key meter too and in our hold house if it ran out then you were sat in the dark all night (live in a tiny town with no 24hr shops, closes is 30 miles away).

However in our new house, it wont go off between 8pm and 8am (7-9 in the winter) so thats quite a nice feature :)

I just pressed the emergency today, woke up and power was off lol. Must remember to get more :laugh:

Also my meter is outside, is that wierd? You guys seem to have them inside, that'd be way better.

I've seen myself out at night with nothing on my feet in the rain trying to get into the box to put it back onlol

Also, we have oil heating and our old boiler didnt need electric to keep running, only to start it. But our new one does, so if the electrics out, so is the heating :(

[Detection]

we have a key meter too and in our hold house if it ran out then you were sat in the dark all night (live in a tiny town with no 24hr shops, closes is 30 miles away).

However in our new house, it wont go off between 8pm and 8am (7-9 in the winter) so thats quite a nice feature :)

I just pressed the emergency today, woke up and power was off lol. Must remember to get more :laugh:

Also my meter is outside, is that wierd? You guys seem to have them inside, that'd be way better.

I've seen myself out at night with nothing on my feet in the rain trying to get into the box to put it back onlol

Also, we have oil heating and our old boiler didnt need electric to keep running, only to start it. But our new one does, so if the electrics out, so is the heating :(

Not clicking off from 8pm-8am is a great feature, I wish we had that sometimes

Our electric is inside but gas meter by law now has to be outside so when it runs out its generally because its freezing outside and always late at night too and we have to go outside freezing our butts off waiting for the slow-assed meter to turn the gas back on

Electric meter takes 2 seconds to top up, push key in, beep, pull key out

Gas meter, put card in, wait for meter to wake up, wait for meter to realise there is a card in, wait for meter to realise the gas is off, wait for meter to realise we have emergency on the card, tell us to press this button for gas, tell us to let go, tell us gas is off push and hold to turn gas on, tell us to let go of button, stand up rubbing hands stamping feet watching breath in air, wait for gas meter to click and turn gas on, stand shouting HURRY THE **** UP! At the meter, eventually meter says Emergency on

Why not just have the exact same method as electric? Same fookin company! lol