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Leaving PC on overnight: opinions please

Post Date: 2020-01-14
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Bahger View Drop Down
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Posts: 279 		  Quote Bahger Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Leaving PC on overnight: opinions please
    Posted: 14 Jan 2020 at 5:54pm
Until recently, when I've been leaving my system on overnight to monitor the frequency of BSODs I've been getting, I always powered down my PC when I went to bed, booting it up again in the morning.

Power consumption and the attendant costs are obviously a factor but my main concern is for the health and longevity of my expensive high-performance rig. During this recent phase of leaving it on (which felt oddly aberrational at first) I set Windows to sleep the PC after 3 hours (which also sleeps the monitor) but not to switch it off.

I've heard arguments on both sides. Is it better to leave a PC on permanently overnight if it's used every day? What is the best practice, along with the best power settings, for an always-on system if that is indeed the way to go? Many thanks, as always.
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 14 Jan 2020 at 8:24pm
My systems stay on 24/7.   Originally DS Techs advised this was best for system stability with Overclocked high end DS rigs.    I set the monitors to time out /sleep, but the drives are always on..   Since 2011 I have run all of my 4 DS rigs this way, and it works great for me.   
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Posts: 279 		  Quote Bahger Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 14 Jan 2020 at 9:26pm
Originally posted by HockeyBuck

My systems stay on 24/7.   Originally DS Techs advised this was best for system stability with Overclocked high end DS rigs.    I set the monitors to time out /sleep, but the drives are always on..   Since 2011 I have run all of my 4 DS rigs this way, and it works great for me.   

This is very helpful, HockeyBuck, thank you. I assume you power down before going on vacation or other extended AFK?
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 14 Jan 2020 at 10:09pm
Yes I shut down the rigs if leaving for several days or more, but that really doesn’t happen very often...perhaps a couple times a year...lol.
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Posts: 9459 		  Quote Snaike Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Jan 2020 at 2:42am
I seem to be somewhere in the middle as I don't power down every day, but will leave it on 3 or 4 nights a week. The only thing that ~has~ to happen IMHO is to make sure you turn the "sleep" and "hibernate" functions off.
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Posts: 7330 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Jan 2020 at 4:50am
I agree. Same as HB, I leave everything but the monitor on every night. Shut down only for long away times. Never an issue, never seemed to stress or limit the lifetime of parts.
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Posts: 279 		  Quote Bahger Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Jan 2020 at 10:42am
Do you sleep the monitor or switch it off?
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Posts: 13000 		  Quote Tidgxor Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Jan 2020 at 11:17am
Originally posted by Snaike

The only thing that ~has~ to happen IMHO is to make sure you turn the "sleep" and "hibernate" functions off.


You know I've just been unusually lucky with this. For years and years I've heard this said, and I don't question it, I know it genuinely causes a lot of issues for a lot of people, but I've never had any issue with sleep. Now hibernate I don't mess with, seemed pointless to me in the same manner a lot people see sleep as pointless (for your PC that is Big%20Smile) in the age of faster boot times. I still use sleep on my DS rig just because my memory is about as good as that of a goldfish these days and I tend to go off and do other things while letting the PC needlessly run idle.

More on topic, I've always been a shut the PC down at night kind of person, but I'm also a bit of an electricity hound after years of working with utility companies. If shutting them down has reduced their lifespan or made the OC unstable then it's occurred on a time frame that I don't notice. I've also found that if I leave it running more often then it consumes more dust and thus I have to clean it more, and I am a very lazy person. LOL
My Two Digital Storm Rigs: Mr. Bojangles (HAF-X, 2010) & Mrs. Bojingles (Bolt I, 2013).
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Posts: 10 		  Quote WestmartBC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Jan 2020 at 2:03pm
I leave mine on 24/7. No sleep mode for anything.
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Posts: 7962 		  Quote hoserator Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2020 at 7:02am
Only have the monitor go to sleep. I also turn the system off every night.

That said, had an update (W10) that made turning off impossible so I disabled the ethernet (already have disabled the wi-fi since I am wired) and disconnected the ethernet cable before going to bed. (lol a bit on the safe side)
BTW, a recent update cured the issues with powering down the system (before the fix, upon powering off, all fans would go on afterburner speed and the gpus would stay powered. (???) all fixed now and I am back to powering off at night.

Enjoy.

Edited by hoserator - 16 Jan 2020 at 7:03am
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Posts: 7330 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2020 at 7:17am
Originally posted by Bahger

Do you sleep the monitor or switch it off?


I sleep the monitor after 15 minutes at all times.
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Posts: 180 		  Quote Bob100 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Jan 2020 at 10:17am
I have often wondered about this issue as well, and, what the reasoning would be either way. I Googled the issue of leaving it on 24/7 vs turning off each night and found several good articles which outline similar logic on the pros & cons.

Seems that during the initial warranty period, an argument can be made to turn it off each night so that any weak components will be stressed enough (from the initial voltage surge of being turned on repeatedly) that they would fail under warranty and get replaced for free. After the components have aged, past the warranty period, you can go either way. But once the computer gets into the old-age category, it is best to leave it on 24/7.

Here is a summary from: https://www.lifewire.com/shut-computer-down-or-not-4135231

Use a normal turn on and turn off cycle; that is, turn the computer off when not in use during the original manufacturer's warranty period. This will help ensure all components are aged out under warranty to a time frame when failure rates fall to a low level. It also helps to ensure that any failure that may happen will occur under warranty, saving you some serious coin.

Once you move beyond the warranty period, the components should have aged beyond the infant mortality time frame and entered their teenage years, when they're tough and can stand up to just about any reasonable amount of stress thrown at them. At this point, you can switch to a 24/7 operating mode, if you wish to.

So, new computer, turn it on and off as needed. Teenage to adult, it's up to you; there's no real benefit either way. Senior, keep it on 24/7 to extend its life.

Edited by Bob100 - 21 Jan 2020 at 9:44am
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Posts: 7330 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 21 Jan 2020 at 4:33am
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Posts: 279 		  Quote Bahger Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Jan 2020 at 8:03am
Gents, I have a quick follow-up question: I've noticed that, after I leave the PC on overnight, with monitor set to sleep after 3 hours, in the morning Windows has timed out and needs me to re-enter my PW. This obviously means that any program left open in Windows overnight needs to be re-opened. It's not a big deal but can anyone advise re. whether this is normal behavior and if it can/should be adjusted? Many thanks.

ps I've just noticed there's a "Turn off hard disk after.." setting in Power Options/Advanced settings. I'd love to know more about this, especially has my HDD is a secondary drive and my boot disk is a SSD.

Edited by Bahger - 29 Jan 2020 at 8:10am
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Posts: 9459 		  Quote Snaike Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Jan 2020 at 9:27am
Originally posted by Bahger

..... I've noticed that, after I leave the PC on overnight, with monitor set to sleep after 3 hours, in the morning Windows has timed out and needs me to re-enter my PW. This obviously means that any program left open in Windows overnight needs to be re-opened. ...


When I do leave my system on I get the same thing... just a password to restart. However all of my work (including a 5 page letter I was working on when I went to bed last night) was right where I left it. No programs shut down on my system, only the monitor.

YMMV ...but I've never had a issue with it.   
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Jan 2020 at 12:32pm
Set the Windows power options for the hard drives to Never shut down and that should resolve the issue. All of mine are set up that way, and you won’t need to sign in again unless the occasional Windows Update has run overnight and required a reboot.   
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Posts: 279 		  Quote Bahger Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Jan 2020 at 12:40pm
Originally posted by HockeyBuck

Set the Windows power options for the hard drives to Never shut down and that should resolve the issue. All of mine are set up that way, and you won’t need to sign in again unless the occasional Windows Update has run overnight and required a reboot.   

That’s how my settings are right now, but with both the new SSD boot drive and the one it replaced, I find I have to input my Windows PW or PIN when I wake up in the morning. It’s not so much a drive power issue as a Windows issue, it seems to me. It’s probably fixable from somewhere deep in the Windows options, but not under Power Management, I suspect. This might be the answer:

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9991-windows-10-power-settings.html

“When your computer turns back on from sleep or hibernate mode, by default, Windows 10 will require you to enter a password. If you wish to skip the password – so your computer wakes up automatically signed in – you can disable it by going into your account settings. Just go to Settings, click on Accounts, choose Sign-in Options and select Never from the dropdown menu.”

Edited by Bahger - 29 Jan 2020 at 12:42pm
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Posts: 7962 		  Quote hoserator Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Jan 2020 at 1:48pm
Go to: Settings>Power & Sleep (under Sleep click "never") >Additional power settings Click High Performance > Change plan settings >Put the computer to sleep, click "never". On same pages you can set when the display sleeps. I only "sleep" the monitors, the rest stays on. No p/w or pin when it wakes up since it is only the monitors.
I never set the pc to sleep or hibernate. never.
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Jan 2020 at 1:51pm
In Win10 >Settings >Power & Sleep....

I have my Screen set to turn off at 20 mins. Move the mouse or touch the keyboard and its on again just as I left it before.

PC goes to sleep is set to Never.

That should be sufficient to avoid needing to sign back into windows.

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Posts: 279 		  Quote Bahger Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 29 Jan 2020 at 7:01pm
Here’s a funny thing (at least I think it’s funny): today I reinstalled the Sonos desktop app. During the install it asked me to let it customise my PC’s sleep settings so that Windows is always awake when I want to access music on the HDD remotely. I checked the box and then went to Windows Power Management, only to find that a new power setting called Sonos had been created. I think this might have solved my little issue.

Edited by Bahger - 29 Jan 2020 at 7:02pm
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Posts: 110 		  Quote johndeniel Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Feb 2020 at 12:59am
Originally posted by Bahger

Until recently, when I've been leaving my system on overnight to monitor the frequency of BSODs I've been getting, I always powered down my PC when I went to bed, booting it up again in the morning.

Power consumption and the attendant costs are obviously a factor but my main concern is for the health and longevity of my expensive high-performance rig. During this recent phase of leaving it on (which felt oddly aberrational at first) I set Windows to sleep the PC after 3 hours (which also sleeps the monitor) but not to switch it off.

I've heard arguments on both sides. Is it better to leave a PC on permanently overnight if it's used every day? What is the best practice, along with the best power settings, for an always-on system if that is indeed the way to go? Many thanks, as always.
Personally you don't have to worry about leaving your PC on overnight. It wouldnt harm your rig in any way. I sometimes leave my pc on overnight to play some background music while I sleep. I even leave it on more than a day sometimes and still my PC is in it's glorious state. I just upgraded it too as a matter of fact so basically it's brand new
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