Is it okay to leave my PC on 24/7?

[DumboDodo]

I'd like to know if leaving my PC open 24/7 is okay. I have a decent, Tier A PSU (Corsair TX650M) and my parts seem rather durable, as well, so is it okay if I, for example leave it open for 3 days, let it rest for a few hours, leave it open for 204 days, let it rest again, and so on?

Of course, by "leave it open," I don't mean to heavily load it all the time. I mean leave the browser open, leave Photoshop open, and so on. Also, all of that is considering I'd apply a decent power plan that would make it sleep after an hour or so of inactivity. Would that make it better?

Thanks

[seon123]

Why would you do that in the first place?

[Greenish]

Leaving a computer on for a long period of time is never usually a good idea, if you are one of those people who will need to quickly access their computer, I would suggest just sleeping it or hibernating it. If you mean using it to host something in the background like Node.js ect. I would suggest investing in a relativity cheap Optiplex. I have got around 3 just from my school all for about $20AUD each, they usually have 8/16gb RAM with an i3/i5. You could probably find one for $150USD on Ebay or other sites.

[DumboDodo]

1 minute ago, seon123 said:

Why would you do that in the first place?

Honestly, I don't use my laptop for extended periods of time. In short, instead of using my PC, for instance, 4 hours at once each day, I use it 4 hours a day, but over the course of the entire day by 15-minute intervals. You get me? That's why I think leaving it open might make it better for me...

[DumboDodo]

Just now, Genwyn said:

Leaving your PC on in sleep mode or whatever is not a concern in the slightest.

By that, do you mean it's better to make sleeping power plans for it, or is it worse?

[descendency]

As long as you keep it clean (dust every so often), it's fine. It's unadvisable due to power cost, but it won't hurt performance or longevity. The notion it does is a myth.

[LienusLateTips]

I leave mine on all day. Currently, I have a CX550M, so Tier B on the list. You'll be fine.

[SpookyCitrus]

I mean the simplest/ most common thing to do is use the computer and turn it off or put it to sleep when you're not using it, for instance I work 9am to 6pm Monday through Friday, when I get home I turn on my PC and do what I need to do, play games, edit videos, all that and leave it on until I am done using it for the night then I put it to sleep and don't turn it back on until the next day when I get home from work, same thing on weekends, I wake up turn it on, when I go to bed I put it sleep. It seems to me like you're making it way more  complicated then it needs to be. Just put it to sleep or have it set to go to sleep automatically when it's not in use and if you are going to be away from it or not using it for long periods of time turn it completely off. If you want to leave it on 24/7 go for it but just keep in mind it does put wear and tear on the components regardless of quality. 

[dizmo]

You'll be perfectly fine. I leave mine on all the time, I think I've turned it off maybe three times in the past year, and that's usually due to Microsoft forcing me to.

 

19 minutes ago, seon123 said:

Why would you do that in the first place?

Why not?

15 minutes ago, descendency said:

As long as you keep it clean (dust every so often), it's fine. It's unadvisable due to power cost, but it won't hurt performance or longevity. The notion it does is a myth.

It really doesn't cost that much to run a computer, especially since when it's just idling it doesn't consume that much power.

[Dubious]

My gaming PC have been on 24/7 since 2011

Also have HTPC and its also on 24/7, including receiver and TV

Only times I have ever had problems is when the PC get turned off, for whatever reason

[Hamface55]

3 hours ago, Dubious said:

My gaming PC have been on 24/7 since 2011

Also have HTPC and its also on 24/7, including receiver and TV

Only times I have ever had problems is when the PC get turned off, for whatever reason

Why have you had it on so long?

[Tonberry]

I'm working in a place where it has working evironment full of 5th gen i5 DELL workstations with crappy OEM PSU which runs 24/7 non stop for around 2.5 years now, with loads that almost eat the whole RAM and only had few restarts after few months just to do regular maintenance. All those stations still run strong till this seconds..

[spartaman64]

i play bdo and theres lots of afk things you can do in that game so my pc has been on 24/7 for like 2 years only shutting off during server maintenance and theres no problems with my pc

[Alan G]

3 hours ago, Dubious said:

My gaming PC have been on 24/7 since 2011

Also have HTPC and its also on 24/7, including receiver and TV

Only times I have ever had problems is when the PC get turned off, for whatever reason

I don't game but do a lot of photo editing and consulting work.  My workstation stay on 24/7 but the monitor gets turned off at the end of the work day.  I do turn it off when we will be away on vacation.  I also have an HTPC that is on 24/7 as it sometimes is recording a movie in the middle of the night.  I don't put PCs into sleep mode as power consumption of PCs when just on and not doing anything is minimal.  The HTPC is wireless and when I was putting it into sleep mode it would wake up at weird times because of the wireless NIC would signal it to (despite setting it not to, every Windows update would change the setting).  I've been doing this for three years without any issues at all.

[seon123]

20 minutes ago, PotatoCanDo! said:

I'm working in a place where it has working evironment full of 5th gen i5 DELL workstations with crappy OEM PSU which runs 24/7 non stop for around 2.5 years now, with loads that almost eat the whole RAM and only had few restarts after few months just to do regular maintenance. All those stations still run strong till this seconds..

Dell typically uses good PSUs. Just because they're grey boxes, doesn't mean they're crappy. 

[Olaf6541]

18 hours ago, dizmo said:

It really doesn't cost that much to run a computer, especially since when it's just idling it doesn't consume that much power.

Depends on where you live, here a 24/7 50W-at-idle pc costs €100 per year...

[MadmanRB]

1 hour ago, Olaf6541 said:

Depends on where you live, here a 24/7 50W-at-idle pc costs €100 per year...

Perhaps but do keep in mind that sometimes PC's have setups are are better left with the power on, especially if you use a lot of fans.

A pc can draw a lot of power when first turning on, if you have say a GPU well that makes matters worse as they are the most power hungry things in most modern computers.

For a GPU it may be a smarter idea to leave the machine on

Regardless power consumption on modern computers is minuscule and you can draw the same kind of wattage by just turning on a old fashioned light bulb.

In any case I always leave my machines on, no harm has ever happened from me doing this, there is no "wear" to worry about and i argue it is going to be more "wear" by turning the machine on and off.

[Olaf6541]

9 minutes ago, MadmanRB said:

Regardless power consumption on modern computers is minuscule and you can draw the same kind of wattage by just turning on a old fashioned light bulb.

That is no valid argument because you wouldn't let that lightbulb on either if it wasn't necessary. I'm just saying that running a pc 24/7 wouldn't be a problem in terms of degradation of components but rather the unnecessary electricity usage, especially if you're living somewhere where electricity isn't that cheap...

[MadmanRB]

13 minutes ago, Olaf6541 said:

That is no valid argument because you wouldn't let that lightbulb on either if it wasn't necessary. I'm just saying that running a pc 24/7 wouldn't be a problem in terms of degradation of components but rather the unnecessary electricity usage, especially if you're living somewhere where electricity isn't that cheap...

 

Well I am fully aware there is a huge debate of leaving things on vs. leaving things off until you need it.

However I still say the power bills are more effected when turning things on and off, trust me i have seen my electric bills and they are always worse if I turn my PC on and off.

And my PC isnt the leading cause of my electric bills either, its the air conditioners which chew up more power then my PC ever will and believe me with those its a good idea just to leave them on.

 

In any case i say suspend is a good option, its the best of both worlds if you live in a area wheere the power bills are high, leave the PC on the day suspend at night.

Simple solution to a simple problem.

[Olaf6541]

1 minute ago, MadmanRB said:

 

Well I am fully aware there is a huge debate of leaving things on vs. leaving things off until you need it.

However I still say the power bills are more effected when turning things on and off, trust me i have seen my electric bills and they are always worse if I turn my PC on and off.

And my PC isnt the leading cause of my electric bills either, its the air conditioners which chew up more power then my PC ever will and believe me with those its a good idea just to leave them on.

While pc's use more power during boot than when idle i cannot understand how a temporary higher power draw of a minute during boot affects the average power draw of the several hours it's on...

Ofcourse it's up to OP wether the extra electricity is worth it, I run a 15W server (€30/y) myself because i think it's worth it. And I agree that devices like vacuum cleaners and airconditioners use way more electricity anyway.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I always leave my desktops on 24/7 (I would reboot around once a week) and never had problems. I also never noticed a change in my power bill (I'm sure it was there but was not enough to notice). I record OTA TV on a desktop so it needs to be on all times. Also, various scans and updates happen at night when I'm (hopely) sleeping.

 

I had a computer builder advise me once that laptops aren't built to handle 24/7 usage and advise shutting them down when not in use.

[MadmanRB]

Well yeah if you are running a server there is no choice but to keep the machine running.

Still for the rest of the average joes out there hibernate/suspend/sleep are great viable alternatives to turning things off.

[Olaf6541]

27 minutes ago, MadmanRB said:

Well yeah if you are running a server there is no choice but to keep the machine running.

Still for the rest of the average joes out there hibernate/suspend/sleep are great viable alternatives to turning things off.

I'm the only user so i could suspend/hibernate it overnight but it's easier to just have it on 24/7, and I would also advice OP to suspend/hibernates overnight and wake it up when using it (that's what i do with my desktop).

 

Also i should add that hibernating your system saves all the programs that are running so you can leave your browser/photoshop stuff open, so you can continue your work right after waking up the system.

[dizmo]

20 hours ago, Olaf6541 said:

Depends on where you live, here a 24/7 50W-at-idle pc costs €100 per year...

30 cents a day still really doesn't seem like much. 

[Olaf6541]

11 minutes ago, dizmo said:

30 cents a day still really doesn't seem like much. 

Its up to OP to decide if its worth it, i would just hibernate overnight. I really dont see the benefit of letting it run idle 24/7...