Hi everybody, today I would like to talk a little about the different power options you have for your computer. There has been a lot of talk about whether you should leave your computer on all the time or shut it off at night. If you search the topic, you will find answers that vary widely. Today, I am going to share some of my own experiences on the topic.
In general, most of our office computers stay on all the time. This is in part that some are running as servers all night and day and that some I just leave on to keep them ready in case I need to do some work right away and I do not want to wait for the system to boot up. In all cases, I do NOT use sleep mode for any of our computers. We have found that computers coming out of sleep mode or hibernation run very slow, often until they are re-booted. The only power saving option we enable is for the screen to shut off after about an hour. The difference in energy used in sleep mode vs leaving it on are not all that impressive. So the big question is how does leaving the computer on affect it’s life? We have put several systems to the test and the results are quite conclusive.
We have tested several laptops and desktops and we have left these systems on 25/7 for several years. The Sony laptop we tested ran for 8 years straight before I had to replace a fan. After repairing the fan, the computer is still going strong. In comparison, I had a backup system that I would only turn on when I needed it and turned it off when I was finished. The hard drive on this system failed after about 2 years. All of our systems that are on 24/7 appear to outlive the systems that are frequently turned on and off.
All modern hard drives have a S.M.A.R.T system chip built into them.This sensor measures and records on your computer the number of starts and stops the hard drive makes. All hard drives have a rated number of starts and stops that they are supposed to achieve. Once you reach that threshold, you are on borrowed time. I should note that every time you start your computer, this action puts wear on the heads of the HD. A large number of starts and stops will create more wear then if the system is left on.
In general, if you are only going to be away from your computer a few hours, just leave it on. If you are going out for the day or will be gone for an extended period of time, it is probably a good idea to shut the computer off. If you are going on an extended vacation, pull the plug as well to avoid any power spikes from a thunder storm. One other thing I should mention that is really important, be sure to get a battery backup to protect your system from brown outs and power outages. When a computer suddenly shuts down because of a power outage, your hard drive or other delicate components could be permanently damaged.
I hope this article helps clear up any questions you might have about computer power options.
