Leave your system on all the time or turn it off?

Which do you do?  Which is better for your computer?

I've always left mine on 24/7.  My last rig, which was at the time I built it top of the line, lasted around 5 years before it took a dump and I came here and got my DS rig.  The fact that turning your rig on and off is hard on the equipment is not disputable, however, whether it actually shortens the lifespan of them would have to be compared between two identical rigs over time.  Even then, every piece of equipment can fail or not in any given time frame. 

I leave mine on because of the constant variable that is always true, turninig it off and on, throwing power to the hardware, is going to be more harmful than just letting the rig stay in a state of constant power.  Get a very good surge protector. 

Well, his post wasn't addressing power consumption, rather what's better for the computer.  But, if you're running multiple rigs then no doubt power consumption would play a factor if in fact that's something the OP is eluding to.

My last rig lasted 5 years without a shutdown, except for a power outage every now and then.  I know it doesn't mean that he could get the same life expectancy because it really kinda is a crap shoot.  But you're right, it's all finite.  So it begs the question, what will shorten the life expectancy quickest?  Leaving it on, or shutting it down?  Many will have different opinions on that and they'll typically come from personal experience, so it becomes a personal preference option.

You must be working off your computer just as I am today.  We're responding back and forth pretty quickly...lol.

most expensive parts in my rigs have a MTBF rating in hours, so I try to keep the hours down. But it is all what is important to the end user. lol Plus Vista is allways writing crap to the SSD's shortening their lifespan.  Plus my AC runs more in the summer with all the rigs on. lol

would you guys suggest keeping a high end gaming rig on all the time? i wouldnt mind but it's noisy

I turn mine off. To much light to leave on.

Originally posted by LDLD would you guys suggest keeping a high end gaming rig on all the time? i wouldnt mind but it's noisy

It's all personal preference.  If it's too noisy, then don't leave it on.  Asking someone what to do and knowing what bothers you personally about leaving it on is like asking someone what's blue and smells like red paint?  What's the answer?  Blue paint.  Well duh.

I'm sorry if that sounds a bit direct, but if you know it's too noisy then is asking someone that question based on it being noisy going to give you an answer that would be different than the answer you already know?

Every set-up is different.  I have 4/120mm fans plus I have my GPU fan cranked to 100%, so it speaks to me.  It's really not as bad as I thought it would be, but it does talk.  However, my rig is in my home office in front of my house and I keep my doors closed.  The sound is moot because it's closed off from the rest of the house so keeping mine on isn't an issue.  That's not necessarily why I keep my rig on 24/7, but the sound factor isn't an issue with me.

It will boil down to each person's personal situation and their personal belief.  If you're rig is sleeping with you in the same room, you may very well have a noise problem.  In that case shutting it down when not using it or sleeping may have to be part of the equation when making the decison.  But I can't really see asking someone else helping you in the noise category.

Well, another thing to consider is pump life for all you LCers out there. These things have a very finite life span and leaving your comp on 24/7 will drastically eat into this. Now I know that replacing a simple pump is not a pratice in rocket science and not that expensive, BUT having your pump fail and not realize it could potentially overheat and cause damage to your hardware. Plus if you're like me and have a Cool-it LC device, it's all one piece of hardware...so there is no simple replacement of a pump.

"a spoon full of sugar"...there's no love or sympathy here!  

Originally posted by Zardoz8719 Originally posted by EdH63 Originally posted by LDLD would you guys suggest keeping a high end gaming rig on all the time? i wouldnt mind but it's noisy It's all personal preference.  If it's too noisy, then don't leave it on.  Asking someone what to do and knowing what bothers you personally about leaving it on is like asking someone what's blue and smells like red paint?  What's the answer?  Blue paint.  Well duh. I'm sorry if that sounds a bit direct, but if you know it's too noisy then is asking someone that question based on it being noisy going to give you an answer that would be different than the answer you already know? Every set-up is different.  I have 4/120mm fans plus I have my GPU fan cranked to 100%, so it speaks to me.  It's really not as bad as I thought it would be, but it does talk.  However, my rig is in my home office in front of my house and I keep my doors closed.  The sound is moot because it's closed off from the rest of the house so keeping mine on isn't an issue.  That's not necessarily why I keep my rig on 24/7, but the sound factor isn't an issue with me. It will boil down to each person's personal situation and their personal belief.  If you're rig is sleeping with you in the same room, you may very well have a noise problem.  In that case shutting it down when not using it or sleeping may have to be part of the equation when making the decison.  But I can't really see asking someone else helping you in the noise category.   Wow, that sounds like a real "parent" kinda answer...where's the love man?  Wasn't it Mary Poppins that said "a little bit of love (or was it sympathy) helps the medicine go down"?  Poor guy was just making conversation...and you hit him with a cold-prickly...instead of a "warm-fuzzy".    Of course, you're right...we all know that...but, it's your "presentation"...bedside-manner if you will...that makes all the difference--right?   By the way...I'm not serious...I found your answer refreshing.  Let's face it, there's a lot less stress in making decisions if you rely on polls/group-think.

You're kidding me.  I think you are serious to a degree.  Don't get too wrapped up in the "feelings".  I think you can pull a number of responses from DST4ME and see that he is point blank in many of his assessments and responses.  If you "want" to take it personally I guess you could, however, when you base your question on something as subjective as sound, and then you say "I wouldn't mind but it's noisy", as if having someone make your mind up for you about how noisy it would be in your room with you, doesn't quite make sense.  Do you think it does? 

Helping someone come to the conclusion on there own that one cannot make that choice for you can be stated in many different ways, I guess.  As you can see I did apologize if my approach was a bit direct, so it becomes about using common sense to interpret the answer and understanding your own question.  If indeed the question was simply asked incorrectly and the OP intended to mean something else, then I'm assuming he would post up and correct himself.  I, as anyone could only respond according to the information given in the post.

Keep in mind, the written word can be hard to discern and it can be difficult to interpret inflection.  My response was not designed to offend the OP, rather bring a dull point to mind that some questions will have to be answered by you.

It's all good.


  


Edited by EdH63 - 27 Apr 2009 at 4:22pm

I usually just have my computer go to standby mode or whatever... :P

@ EdH63  [/QUOTE]

You're kidding me.  I think you are serious to a degree.  Don't get too wrapped up in the "feelings".  I think you can pull a number of responses from DST4ME and see that he is point blank in many of his assessments and responses.  If you "want" to take it personally I guess you could, however, when you base your question on something as subjective as sound, and then you say "I wouldn't mind but it's noisy", as if having someone make your mind up for you about how noisy it would be in your room with you, doesn't quite make sense.  Do you think it does? 

Helping someone come to the conclusion on there own that one cannot make that choice for you can be stated in many different ways, I guess.  As you can see I did apologize if my approach was a bit direct, so it becomes about using common sense to interpret the answer and understanding your own question.  If indeed the question was simply asked incorrectly and the OP intended to mean something else, then I'm assuming he would post up and correct himself.  I, as anyone could only respond according to the information given in the post.

Keep in mind, the written word can be hard to discern and it can be difficult to interpret inflection.  My response was not designed to offend the OP, rather bring a dull point to mind that some questions will have to be answered by you.

It's all good.

@ EdH63...  If I have offended...I apologize...it was not my intention.  My attempt at humor missed the mark if you felt otherwise.  I had hoped my last line (above) "By the way, I'm not serious...I found your answer refreshing etc...would clarify--but, maybe not.  And, the last few words..."less stress in making decisions if you rely on polls/group-think"...was my way of confirming/validating (our mutual opinion) that people need to make their own decisions...I wrote it that way so as not to belittle the original post--as if to infer they lacked intelligence/initiative...which was also not my intention.