Should I Turn Off My Computer (Most commonly asked question)

(Grammar Corrections By Evan J.)

One of the most common questions a customer asks me is: “Should I leave my computer on all the night or shut it off?”

The quick answer: Turn it off.

Now here is why. When I first got into computers I was taught the best thing for a system is to leave it on. That's why you hear so many techs tell their customers that. But no one ever asks why. Well I did, and here is the background story of why from where I learned it.

When computers were first hitting the market, a computer would cost anywhere from $3000 to $4000+. They had a life span of about 8+ years. Well every time you turned on a computer that first jolt of electricity would wear down the components inside. Thus, instead of the system lasting 8+ years, it would only last for 3 - 5 years. And at $4000+ leaving it on made a lot of sence!

Well times have changed, hardware has changed, and cost has really changed! It just doesn't make sense to leave a system on if it will be left, unattended, for more than an hour.

When systems are so much cheaper and hardware has been improved upon, all you’re doing is raising your electric bill and wearing out a system that's not even being used.

So, unless you are running a server or have a good reason to leave the system on 24/7, turn it off. You will save money on your power bill, help out the environment, and your system will last a little longer since it’s not being used. The worse I've seen is a customer who loved having the 3d fish screen saver on. She left town for 2 weeks, left her computer on (never went into standby) and the screen saver, using 100% cpu and pushing the video card to the limit for 2 weeks straight, ran the whole time.

Anyways, it is up to you on what to do, but with the cost of everything today, leaving a computer on when you don't need it is just not worth it.

-Shane