Permanent Power Feed to PC

humfer

A slightly odd question so please excuse me. Just got a new Dell PC and noticed when I plug the power lead into the back with the wall socket switched on, a green light on the back of the desktop turns on obviously to show its receiving power ok

Is it ok to leave this on permanently. I still turn the desktop on/off by the main button on the front, but was hoping I didn't have to turn the power feed off from the wall socket as its behind my desk and would be a pain to get to every time. This is what I did with my last Dell, but that didn't have a green light so never wondered before. Not really bothered about the power consumption (cost), but more the safety/reliability of the desktop itself

kwikbreaks

Mine is the same and does use a watt or two of energy even when apparently off.

timbim_2

Probably better to leave it on, as the PSU supplies a voltage on some rails even when the computer is "off", repeatedly turning this on and off may cause some damage to the components. As stated above, power consumption minimal.

Awec

May as well leave it on. My PC never gets turned off.

PROLIANT

As there is no mechanical switch between the PSU and 230V AC Mains, every time you switch it on and off at the wall you are relying on the MOSFET Devices to handle the switching of the mains voltage in to the PSU each time, like many electronic components they only have a limited life cycle and when they near, reach or exceed that life expectancy they either go short circuit - bang and magic white smoke!
Or go open circuit - no bang and no magic white smoke.

Also constant firing of the Motherboard voltage regulators has a similar effect over time, so the moral of the exercise is....leave it plugged in.

AHAR

I can't remember where but I recently read an article suggesting that leaving the PSU constantly providing the small amount of standby power when there's no cooling airflow going through the power supply may shorten its life. I expect that if you've got a half-decent PSU it'll be more likely to last for the useful life of the computer than to fail - whether you switch it off at the mains or not. I wouldn't worry about it too much. It'll only be using a few Watts.

macman

humfer wrote: »

A slightly odd question so please excuse me. Just got a new Dell PC and noticed when I plug the power lead into the back with the wall socket switched on, a green light on the back of the desktop turns on obviously to show its receiving power ok

Is it ok to leave this on permanently. I still turn the desktop on/off by the main button on the front, but was hoping I didn't have to turn the power feed off from the wall socket as its behind my desk and would be a pain to get to every time. This is what I did with my last Dell, but that didn't have a green light so never wondered before. Not really bothered about the power consumption (cost), but more the safety/reliability of the desktop itself

You can turn it on that way, but you certainly shouldn't be turning it off, as repeated use of the on/off switch to shut down will cause premature hard drive faiilure. Shut it down via the Start menu.

robt_2

macman wrote: »

You can turn it on that way, but you certainly shouldn't be turning it off, as repeated use of the on/off switch to shut down will cause premature hard drive faiilure. Shut it down via the Start menu.

The power button on the front should initiate a proper shutdown from Windows.

basmic

robt wrote: »

The power button on the front should initiate a proper shutdown from Windows.

Correct, but only if Windows has beeen setup to do so.

robt_2

basmic wrote: »

Correct, but only if Windows has beeen setup to do so.

Which it will be. As far as I am aware it is standard for a Dell computer (what the OP is asking about) to be set up in this way from the factory, and indeed an OEM install of Vista on my PC also has this setup as default.

Awec

basmic wrote: »

Correct, but only if Windows has beeen setup to do so.

It's the default setting for OEM machines.