Leaving Computer on overnight

HOLsale

caveat_emptor wrote:

Cost of electricity would be cheaper if you turned it off overnight but there are other considerations. It's said that the shock to the system on start up could reduce the life of a PC but I haven't seen any data to support this. There is also risk of electrical fault leading to fire but I haven't seen any data for this either.
Take a look at https://www.tranquilpc.co.uk for costs of running PC.
My PC is normally running during the day but I turn it off overnight.

i've had 4 computers over the last 10 years and we have ALWAYS turned them off. i find that windows tends to crash more if you don't let the computer have some rest time (not so bad with XP but was really bad with 98)

all of our computers have had long lives... we still have one and it's nearly 7 years old, it's my dd (4) computer. we have just replaced one (6 years old) with a new dual core machine (SEXY!) and another with a Mac Mini the oldest one( would be 10 years old) was just gotten rid of because it was of no use softwarewise..plus we got tired of feeding the hamster that was running the wheel to power the ancient thing :rotfl:

HOLsale

tigermatt wrote:

Why not just hibernate your PC (if using XP) It saves all of your currently opened programs and stuff in memory to disk then you can power off. Next time you turn on it not only turns on quicker, it means all your programs are open again and you are back running just as before. You may need to turn it on in Screen Saver > Power > Hibernate options. Then when you shut down either hold down ctrl I think, could be alt or shift though, then select hibernate or pick hibernate from menu.

what percentage of power does that still use though?

many items still use 60-80% of their power on standby :eek:

we turn EVERYTHING off here including the shower and the cooker at the wall

the cooker is for safety reasons as we have a young child but it really saves a LOT of money on the electric bills and being quite a greenie i feel quilty if i leave it all on

HOLsale

tigermatt wrote:

Auto hibernate at 30 minutes idle should be OK. Don't forget you can also hibernate your PC manually, I can't remember which you press but you either press and hold ctrl, shift or alt at the shut down box and standby changes to hibernate you then click this then let go of the keyboard key. (That's when your using the welcome screen) if using classic login just pick hibernate from shutdown list.

hibernate comes up as an option when i bring up the shut down menu... but i'm running XP pro so that might be the difference

intel

XP Home is the shift key.

cougar_3

Can someone explain to me how devices use 80% of their power when they're in standby. I'm not disputing it because I've heard it elsewhere, but all they have running is a circuit to test for the power button, a clock and a little LED surely!

intel

Post 47 may help.

wolfman

HOLsale wrote:

what percentage of power does that still use though?

many items still use 60-80% of their power on standby :eek:

I'm sure it's not that high!

A computer as an example will use roughly 10-30 watts when in standby, compared with the 200-400 watts (depends on your machine spec) it uses when running.

When in hibernation, it's basically the same as shutting it down. It's virtually completely off apart from a small amount of power the motherboard I think still uses, a matter of a watt or two.

HOLsale

djohn2002uk wrote:

I bought my first home PC from Evesham .

does my heart good to see you're so loyal to Evesham as we just purchased a Dual Core machine from them in October (i'm in love!).

it wasn't cheap but we plan to use it til it's dead or totally antiquated

we got the 3 year on site warranty as well but from the sounds of your experience we may never need it

wolfman

cougar wrote:

Can someone explain to me how devices use 80% of their power when they're in standby. I'm not disputing it because I've heard it elsewhere, but all they have running is a circuit to test for the power button, a clock and a little LED surely!

It's just misunderstood. Appliances won't (or shouldn't today as they're generally more efficient) use that much electricity when in standby. It does however add up over time.

For example, the clock on a microwave is on 24/7. Over a year that probably amounts to more than when you use the oven, as it's on constantly, as opposed to the occassional use that the oven gets. So it's basically a small amount over a long period. Multiply that across the 20 or so appliances you probably have around the house that use standby power and it starts to add up.

HOLsale

wolfman wrote:

I'm sure it's not that high!

A computer as an example will use roughly 10-30 watts when in standby, compared with the 200-400 watts (depends on your machine spec) it uses when running.

When in hibernation, it's basically the same as shutting it down. It's virtually completely off apart from a small amount of power the motherboard I think still uses, a matter of a watt or two.

it may not be that high for a computer on hibernate but that's what i've heard time and time again for things like dvd players, tv's, vcr's etc

i actually HATE the fact that i cannot find any way to actully shut my new dvd player off completely save switching it off at the wall...but that's another story :rotfl: