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General discussionWhat do you do with your computer when not using it?(138 posts)(138 posts)
(138 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted January 12, 2021
I always shut down overnight - I might leave on during the day if I'm not using it and think I might use it later.

My old computer (a FX-8350 with a WD Black 1TB HDD) had a terrible boot time to Windows 7 (and even longer before the boot was usable - Windows 10 with an NVME WD Black has a much better boot time, meaning that I could even turn off during the day.
Posted January 12, 2021
I have many computers active in my home.

My main rig - Stays on and I support a few torrents on there for open source projects when I'm not using it.
My HTPCs x 3 - Stays on for when we want to game or watch a show.
My LAN rigs x 8 & My Custom cabs x 2 - Are off until family and friends come over to use them.
My server/emergency desktop - Stays on running a few servers for family and friends to use when they want to play some games online.
Posted January 12, 2021
Leave it running.

I never turn it off and I rarely reboot it (only when forced to).

I do, however, close all applications when I go to sleep.
Post edited January 12, 2021 by mrkgnao
Posted January 12, 2021
When I'm done for the day I shut it down. If I know I'll need to use the PC again soon I just put it to sleep.

I never unplug it from the wall unless there's some major external problem, like a power outage, a mega rainstorm, stuff like that. Where I live, it rains almost every day from December to March, so this is actually kind of frequent.

BTW anyone old enough will remember a tall tale about shuting down a PC too often possibly damaging the components. Not sure this was ever true, but it's a proven fact that keeping the PC on for days on end can wear down the components over time.
Posted January 12, 2021
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DoomSooth: Why would you leave it running? Turn it off. You'll save money on your power bill and it keeps the house cooler.
This.

Also, I'm running Win7 using an SSD, so shut down definitely means shut down.
Posted January 12, 2021
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Arcadius-8606: My LAN rigs x 8 & My Custom cabs x 2 - Are off until family and friends come over to use them.
This is way too cool...
Posted January 12, 2021
Any computer I had since '99 has been running first the standalone SETI@home project and then BOINC once that appeared, and has been on 24/7 unless I was away for multiple days (only happened a few times), or of course unless I need to move the desk, change some internal components or there's a power failure lasting more than a couple of minutes. Do my best to be power-conscious when it comes to selecting components, and since GPU work units were introduced always had it set to not get any, so only the CPU will be at full load, not have the GPU draw power all the time too (this one only has integrated graphics anyway, but before...), but it stays on. Turn the monitor off when I'm not using it though.
Posted January 12, 2021
I always use hibernate or shut down, then unplug everything when I'm going to be away.

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Vythonaut: This certainly holds some truth, though in reality it never happened to me - at least not yet. I've been unplugging it daily since 2009 and CMOS battery was never discharged. Nowadays, i spend most of the time working or doing relevant IT stuff on my laptop (Linux), so i'm only using my desktop (Win 7) for gaming or music recording (10-15 hours per week).

So, i guess it can happen when a PC doesn't see much use in general, or maybe if the battery is already old, though in practice with moderate daily use i don't think it's a common occcurence.
I actually had a CMOS battery fully die out a few weeks ago. It was in PC from 2010 that I always unplug when I'm away (1 to 2 weeks at a time), but gets heavy use when I'm home. That's the first time it's ever happened to me, but this is also the first time in my life I've been able to keep a gaming PC moderately useful with upgrades for this long.
Posted January 12, 2021
Here's how I currently handle my computers:
* Desktop: Leave on. (Mainly because it can be a pain to boot up, and I need to remember to select the correct boot option then run a command to limit the CPU's frequency with each boot.)
* Small laptop: Turn off. Every now and then I may suspend it if I want to keep my place when browsing the web with lynx. I prefer suspend to hibernate because it takes a little while to boot from the eMMC. (I've read that the model apparently supports M.2 SATA (not PCIe) SSDs, and have been considering getting and installing one.)
* Big laptop: Hibernate, or suspend if hibernate fails (though maybe I should try dropping caches and then suspending then; there's 8GB of RAM (but 2GB are reserved for the GPU) but the Debian installer only gave me 1GB of swap)). It boots up *really* fast, but it's a little annoying to set everything up for playing the game I'm playing, so I just hibernate when I'm done playing (loading from hibernation is fast on this computer).
* Raspberry Pi 4: Leave on. The Pi has no power button (except the Pi 400), and I believe it doesn't support sleep mode, but it uses up much less electricity than other computing devices.
* Android phone: Leave on. Modern smartphones are generally good at saving power when idle. (With that said, one time an alert came in the middle of the night (which I didn't hear because I have disabled the audio), and when I woke up, the phone's battery was down to 4% (I usually never let it get that low).)
* Old Android phone (not used as a phone or for internet): Leave off. (Android really does take longer to boot than a phone really should, to be honest.)
Posted January 12, 2021
If I am going to use the computer the next day - Sleep.
If not - Shut down (usually weekends)
Posted January 12, 2021
I leave it on and it will lock in 20 mins then it will stop sending video output in like 5 min after that.
Posted January 12, 2021
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samuraigaiden: I never unplug it from the wall unless there's some major external problem, like a power outage, a mega rainstorm, stuff like that. Where I live, it rains almost every day from December to March, so this is actually kind of frequent.
Why turn it off during a rainstorm? (serious question)
Posted January 12, 2021
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samuraigaiden: I never unplug it from the wall unless there's some major external problem, like a power outage, a mega rainstorm, stuff like that. Where I live, it rains almost every day from December to March, so this is actually kind of frequent.
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teceem: Why turn it off during a rainstorm? (serious question)
Many trees all around and power lines above ground. Strong enough rain or a well placed bolt of lightning can cause all kinds of power instability.
Posted January 12, 2021
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MikeMaximus: I actually had a CMOS battery fully die out a few weeks ago. It was in PC from 2010 that I always unplug when I'm away (1 to 2 weeks at a time), but gets heavy use when I'm home. That's the first time it's ever happened to me, but this is also the first time in my life I've been able to keep a gaming PC moderately useful with upgrades for this long.
Interesting to hear; in any case, I hope it wasn't difficult to access the battery.
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samuraigaiden: I never unplug it from the wall unless there's some major external problem, like a power outage, a mega rainstorm, stuff like that. Where I live, it rains almost every day from December to March, so this is actually kind of frequent.
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teceem: Why turn it off during a rainstorm? (serious question)
Power surges due to a lightning strike. The lightning may hit a nearly pole, or it may hit your house if you're unlucky and create a massive power surge that can & possibly will fry your equipment, no matter how good are the electrics in your house (even if you already have a surge protector installed). Generally, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Post edited January 12, 2021 by Vythonaut
Posted January 12, 2021
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Vythonaut: Interesting to hear; in any case, I hope it wasn't difficult to access the battery.
It was extremely simple with this board, I was even able to buy the battery itself from the corner store a block away. :D
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionWhat do you do with your computer when not using it?(138 posts)(138 posts)
(138 posts)