Always on

[Mf_pancakes]

So like I just wanna know if any of you would know if having a pc on all the time if it bothers or not and the screen of course, because i never turn it off and I Dont mine but I have it running 356 days a year. Does anyone have information about this?

[Spotty]

1 minute ago, Mf_pancakes said:

Does anyone have information about this?

Not sure what it has to do with leaving a PC on 24/7, but that looks like a SanDisk USB flash drive with the casing removed. If you want more information about it post a photo of the rest of the text written on it legible.

[tikker]

No idea what that picture has to do with your question, but no. Your PC isn't really affected by always being on. You may even avoid a small bit of wear and tear, because it's not repeatedly heating and cooling, or starting and stopping (HDDs, fans). Screens depend. If it's OLED, plasma or a CRT then you don't want to leave it on longer than necessary to avoid burn in. LCD panels can degrade as well, but to my knowledge that requires severe abuse.

 

From a more general point of view I would say does it need to be on 24/7? If not then just to turn it off/stand-by to save energy. Luckily things have auto-standby nowadays, but it's still a good habit to just turn it off if it doesn't need to be on.

[tkitch]

So, there are these things called Servers.  They're just really expensive computers, with a few more chips and circuits in them.  

 

They run 24/7/365 generally, and last years. 

 

No, it won't hurt the computer, assuming you set it up well.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

7 minutes ago, tkitch said:

So, there are these things called Servers.  They're just really expensive computers, with a few more chips and circuits in them.  

 

They run 24/7/365 generally, and last years. 

 

No, it won't hurt the computer, assuming you set it up well.

Well.. apart from the fact that they're validated specifically for that application, but I digress. It's sort of like how enterprise network equipment can last years, maybe even a decade. While your ISP's home router may start to act funny and fail within 2 years of continuous operation. 

[tkitch]

2 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Well.. apart from the fact that they're validated specifically for that application, but I digress. It's sort of like how enterprise network equipment can last years, maybe even a decade. While your ISP's home router may start to act funny and fail within 2 years of continuous operation. 

And I did specifically state "If you set it up well"

If you leave it in a plastic coffin to cook 24/7?  That's bad for it, sure.  But if it's reasonably  well cooled?  It'll run for years and not care.

[CerealExperimentsLain]

There's no 'harm' in it.  Though I set my PCs to sleep.  I pay for the power to run the PCs and I pay for the air conditioning that has to deal with the additional heat the PC puts out.  So I'd rather them sleep if not in use.

Staying on 24/7 will increase where as it'll put more hours on the hardware and more air with it's dust through the fans.  But otherwise it's harmless.

[RejZoR]

There is a minor degradation in electronics if they are perpetually on and running. But generally much smaller effect than electrical influx on every new startup as well as thermal expansion and contraction of electronics which can lead to cracks or gaps in circuitry or its components. Imagine if motherboard, RAM, CPU and graphic card all run at fairly constant temperature temperature of even 50°C or is swinging between 25°C and 50°C (which is lets say between turned off PC and turned on PC). Generally, constant temperature is better for as long as it's not on the upper extreme as in PC constantly on and under heavy load.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

15 hours ago, tkitch said:

And I did specifically state "If you set it up well"

If you leave it in a plastic coffin to cook 24/7?  That's bad for it, sure.  But if it's reasonably  well cooled?  It'll run for years and not care.

Even if you set those ISP routers in a spacious space with air flow, they're not going to last. They're built like disposable items. No heatsinks, no fans, just ventilation holes. If you want them to last, you literally have to add your own cooling and who does that? 

[tkitch]

4 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Even if you set those ISP routers in a spacious space with air flow, they're not going to last. They're built like disposable items. No heatsinks, no fans, just ventilation holes. If you want them to last, you literally have to add your own cooling and who does that? 

We're talking about desktop PCs, not wifi routers.

 

That being said, I did aftermarket add a pair of 50 or 60mm fans onto my Asus router for additional cooling.