An age old question about PC power consumption vs. wear and tear.
Author: Neil Patterson ::
2024 Expertek
Views: 1438 - Updated 6/23/2015 10:10 am Print this tip
Surge: The surge related to starting your computer is not real high, unless you're running a server, (or have a large power supply WITH more than 2 hard drives, or a gaming video card), so daily starts and stops should be handled by your average power supply without causing issues.
Power: Power consumption of the average desktop PC is about 400 watts per hour. Running 24/7, it will use about $4/mo @ .12 /Kwh. That's 1/4 of your average hair dryer, and less than 1/20 of what your oven uses.
Dust: Dust restricts and inhibits air flow in whatever system you are running(and it's worse with laptops). When fans stop moving, or air stops flowing through your PC and it's many heat sinks, things overheat and burn up.
Updates: Updates can occur at any time, and need to be applied to keep your system hacker and bug free. Most of these updates and scans take place overnight while the system is not in use, and it is important that they complete properly. If you miss a scan or update, it's not usually critical, and can be performed the next time you reboot. It is always better to wait, than restart during an update.
Laptops should be not left on overnight (if you can avoid it), because they simply do not have the air flow that desktops have.
So our verdict is the same as "Dad's" , turn it off, if you're not using it.
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