Re: Computer on forever good?
- From: "Mike T." <noway@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 10:59:50 -0400
"Larry Roberts" <skin-e@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:mei3721usc6gkinn1iv0d13hu8vbaghb39@xxxxxxxxxx
All this talk about how long to leave a system on. I usually
power down my system regularly, but to give ya'll an idea of how
unpredictable cheap parts can be in this situation. Most would say
never use a cheap PSU in a system for intermediate use much less 24/7.
Back in 2000, I built a Celeron PC, and used a cheap $20.00
case off eBay that housed a 300W no-name PSU. I kept it a year, then
past it to my brother's family. Since then, the only time that PC was
ever actually powered down, was when I changed parts, or power just
went down. My brother's family never turns it off. It's now a Celeron
1.1Ghz running WinXP Pro for the kids. My brother's main PC is my old
Athlon XP 1900+ with a 650W PSU. It's done burned through a 400W,
450W, and a 550W PSU. The 650W is holding steady for 8 months.
However, the kids' 6yr old 300W PSU is still running 24/7.
Yeah, many old-timers will tell you about the COLOR TV they bought 20 or 30
years ago that they've left on 24 hours a day, and it hasn't given them a
bit of trouble in decades, still has a good picture, etc.
Electronics circuits act somewhat like the filaments in incandescent light
bulbs. As they are used, they expand and contract, due to heating and
cooling. Eventually, this expanding/contracting causes circuits to not run
as efficiently as they were designed. In a TV, this might mean that picture
and/or sound quality degrade. Eventually, these circuits fail completely.
Considering that there can be many thousands of electronics circuits in a TV
or computer, the problem is multiplied.
Everybody knows what happens to the incandescent light bulb if you turn it
on and off frequently.
But leave a TV (for example) on all the time, and you have virtually
eliminated the cycle of wear/tear caused by heating and cooling (expanding
and contracting).
Leaving the power supply on all the time will likely increase it's MTBF
(longevity). But it'll cost electricity to do so, so it's probably better
to shut the system down when not used for several hours. -Dave
.
- References:
- Computer on forever good?
- From: Mexplorer1906
- Re: Computer on forever good?
- From: Conor
- Re: Computer on forever good?
- From: Larry Roberts
- Computer on forever good?
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