PC On or Off

[Tezdread]

Hi, we're crrently having a debate on whether it is better to turn PC's off when not in use over night or leave them on.

We have approx 300 PC's where I work and apart from the odd few all the rest are not used between the hours of 11pm - 7am and most of them are not used between the hours of 5pm -9am

What are the pros and cons of leaving PC's running when not in use for this period of time each day?

The PC's run Windows NT 4 Tezdread
"With every solution comes a new problem"

 

[Accessdabbler]

The monitors should be left on, allowed to power down to suspend or sleep mode (this allows some power to keep the CRT tube warm). Turning a monitor on and off reduces its life.

WinNT4 is fairly stable and is designed to stay on for long periods of time. Personally, I like computers to power off to clean out the "junk".

Security can be an issue if users like to leave the computer on to avoid having to log in.

Turning a computer on and off is not a damaging as turning the monitor on and off.

 

[edfair]

My guidelines to customers: Going to be unused for more than 4 hours, shut it down. All the way.
I used to say 2 hours but with improvement in interconnect methods I've extended it.
The trade offs for shutdown:
Power consumption
Subject to power fluctuations
Subject to chip failure from trace erosion

Trade off for active:
Eliminate power surge coming up
No expansion/contraction of parts with heating/cooling

But whichever way you go, there won't be much difference.
Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[cdogg]

Pros:
- less wear on internal switches (PC's and Monitors)
- power management can be used to offset high power consumption (sleep & standby modes)

Cons:
- can consume quite a bit of power on a large scale (more than 100 pc's & monitors)
- memory management & resources diminish over time
- unnecessary (not in use)
- extra wear to hard drives (unless you use hibernate modes)


Opinions will vary. I prefer to tell employees not to leave them on over the weekend (pc's or monitors). We are all on Win2K, so leaving the pc's on for a week at a time is no problem. I haven't worked as much with leaving NT 4.0 systems on for long periods, but I would think that a week wouldn't hurt.

PC's consume much less power than monitors. We could care less if they are left running throughout the week. However, even in sleep mode, hundreds of monitors can put a dent in your utility bill. We've got several monitors here in one of our labs that have been turned off/on several times a day for years. You do add additional wear to the CRT tube and switch, but really, do you think it's that much? In realistic terms, you're probably shortening overall life from something like 12 years to 11. I wouldn't worry about that too much...


~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein

 

[paparazi]

The life expectency of a computer and monitor will far exceed it's useful productive life, that is to say changes in technology, add on periferals and software applications will force the purchase of new systems well before they wear out.
So save power! and don't worry about wear and tear!
Martin Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[gargouille]

Any computer, running or not, needs to be opened and cleaned out regularly. More often if left running all the time.
Some of the overtemps I look at are precipitated by impacted gunk in the heatsink fins...and the fans on them look like they've been grouted in to fill in any extra spaces. Usually the fans need replacing when they get this far.

It's the best air filter around, especially for the big stuff. It even helps to reduce the amount of what gets in with an added filter over the intakes. Scotch brite or a lot of other media work wonders. (I've even used old porous packing material)
New fin designs on CPU coolers don't help, either. A stock model I put on an AMD system the other day had openings about the width of a piece of paper across it.

 

[paparazi]

Agreed! these micro fin heatsinks ofer a greater cooling surface area but block realy quickly, anyone using one should be cleaning the crap out at least every 6months otherwise total air circulation block will occur and death soon after Note* especially important if the PC is kept in a smoking enviroment.
Martin Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[Tezdread]

Thank you for all your input. From what I've read and the fact the the systems are contolled/leased by an external company the main benefit to us would be the power issue. This is something that will need looking at but getting people to be responsible for turning their computer off when they finish is another thing.

Tezdread
"With every solution comes a new problem"

 

[Wassup393]

Power Saving is Vital!!! I'd advise you to stick big signs up all over the place, or, does NT4 have hibernate? Because if it does, setup that for when people forget.

Sam

 

[34534534534555]

we have only about one hundred pc's but our policy is to switch them and monitors offf. It is worth it for power saving, even overnight.

E-mail everybody telling them what to do and why.

If you have 300 it is def. worth it.

 

[Cosecha]

Would a humid enviroment tilt opinions towards 'Always On'?

 

[Win98User]

You would need extreme temperature shifts for an overnight temp drop to affect a PC (if that is what you are refering to).

Looking at condensation on a window may be a little bit startling but the window is exposed to the outside temps the PC components are not.

Unless you are refering to other humid environments that you might find in Tropical Greenhouses I wouldn't worry about it.

But having said that - if you are operating a desktop PC in an "Industrial Environment" you need an industrial case etc. I have many examples stories to share, but I have said enough ;-)

Regards. Running a PC without backups is like driving a car without a seatbealt. Your knack'ed when you crash!