View Poll Results: I restart my PC

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  • Once per day

    75 46.58%
  • Once per week

    23 14.29%
  • Once per month

    7 4.35%
  • Once per year

    0 0%
  • Only for maintenance

    56 34.78%
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Thread: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

  1. #71
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
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    299
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    Xubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Paqman View Post
    Actually pretty doable.

    In-car PCs run off 12V (ie: battery voltage). A cheap panel, a battery charge controller, some deep cycle batteries and you're done. Could all be picked up second hand for tinkering. Probably unlikely to save any money due to the cost of the batts and wouldn't actually be that green, but it would be totally off-grid.
    Grid tie inverter and panels do the trick, no need to bother with batteries if you are connected to the grid anyway.
    i5-2500, Asus p8p67le, 8g ddr3, gtx460. Eeepc 701 4g surf.

    vm.swappiness=0;noatime,data=writeback;deadline scheduler;preload.

  2. #72
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Beans
    299
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    Xubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    Quote Originally Posted by KiwiNZ View Post
    I have never replaced a CMOS battery.
    The battery serves only 1 purpose: keep the clock running. If you are syncing your clock (using ntp) you might never even notice the battery is dead

    There was a time in the past (386 days), where they used NiCd soldered batteries, these also often kept the config data. Unfortunately, they would eventually leak and had to the removed or risk damaging the motherboard, so storing those machines is bad if you don't rip the thing first...
    i5-2500, Asus p8p67le, 8g ddr3, gtx460. Eeepc 701 4g surf.

    vm.swappiness=0;noatime,data=writeback;deadline scheduler;preload.

  3. #73
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Beans
    6,537
    Distro
    Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Artemis3 View Post
    Grid tie inverter and panels do the trick, no need to bother with batteries if you are connected to the grid anyway.
    Inverters are expensive, and require an electrician to install. Getting a 12V machine and running straight off DC is a simpler and cheaper way of doing it if you're just trying to run a single PC off solar power. I know a guy who's converted part of his home office to run off a system like this (he's put in DC lighting), the rest of his place still runs off the grid power.

    I've got a 2kW PV array with a grid tied inverter myself, but they aren't cheap.
    Last edited by Paqman; September 5th, 2012 at 07:41 PM.

  4. #74
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Beans
    2
    Distro
    Ubuntu

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    I usually put it to sleep; I restart about once a week or only for maintenance, or for switching to Windows to play minecraft.

  5. #75
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Beans
    996
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Artemis3 View Post
    The battery serves only 1 purpose: keep the clock running. If you are syncing your clock (using ntp) you might never even notice the battery is dead
    Just came home from "repairing" a computer that did not boot. Guess which component was not working correctly...?
    Xye incredibly difficult puzzle game with minimal graphics. Also at playdeb
    Got a blog: Will Stay Free

  6. #76
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Beans
    6,537
    Distro
    Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    Quote Originally Posted by snoo eisen View Post
    or for switching to Windows to play minecraft.
    Minecraft runs fine on Ubuntu snoo, it's Java.

  7. #77
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Beans
    299
    Distro
    Xubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Paqman View Post
    I've got a 2kW PV array with a grid tied inverter myself, but they aren't cheap.
    The small (500W) ones cost around 200$ according to amazon, that and a single (or 2~4) 100w panel is a good starting choice imo. Even if you only put 100W or 200W in the opposite direction, thats net savings; and the install is a one time issue; your panel(s) could last a decade easily and the small savings will help your bills; inverter+100w panel would cost around 400$, you could add another panel, for 200$ more, etc. Batteries add unnecessary overhead for those starting to explore this saving method.

    If everyone added small grid tie inverters + panels to their homes; the global net savings would be huge. And now led lighting is becoming reality, i have a couple of 10w led lamps that could blind me if looked directly at (I'm bouncing the light).

    Grid tie is excellent because you don't have to bother with maintaining those heavy, few year lasting batteries. If you produce 100w in the day, and consume 300w in the night, your would be actually consuming 200w (this would be better measured with kW/h but i hope you get it).

    Its also much more friendlier to get people introduced to solar panels, just hire someone to install it once, and enjoy savings for the next decade...

    Why would anyone leave a naked roof if they knew how simple and inexpensive this really is?
    i5-2500, Asus p8p67le, 8g ddr3, gtx460. Eeepc 701 4g surf.

    vm.swappiness=0;noatime,data=writeback;deadline scheduler;preload.

  8. #78
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Beans
    299
    Distro
    Xubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    Quote Originally Posted by vexorian View Post
    Just came home from "repairing" a computer that did not boot. Guess which component was not working correctly...?
    I believe there are some bios with a setting to panic about it, quite silly imo. Take it out and only the clock stops to move, this is not worth bothering the user, even windows syncs to ntp servers nowdays.
    i5-2500, Asus p8p67le, 8g ddr3, gtx460. Eeepc 701 4g surf.

    vm.swappiness=0;noatime,data=writeback;deadline scheduler;preload.

  9. #79
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Beans
    996
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    No, CMOS settings got lost after a black out due to battery not functioning. And plug and play is not bullet proof. So it was trying to boot from the wrong hard drive.
    Xye incredibly difficult puzzle game with minimal graphics. Also at playdeb
    Got a blog: Will Stay Free

  10. #80
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Beans
    6,537
    Distro
    Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail

    Re: Do you keep your PC on 24/7 ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Artemis3 View Post
    Grid tie is excellent because you don't have to bother with maintaining those heavy, few year lasting batteries
    Sure, batteries are definitely the weak link in an off-grid system. We really need better technology for electricity storage, that would help on-grid systems too. We've got storage systems for renewable domestic heat, we need it for electricity too.

    I do wonder how long your $200 inverter would last though, who makes it? I'll be happy with mine if it lasts 10 years, and that's for a decent-brand 2kW one. They're generally the most flaky component of a PV system, and first to go bung.

    I wouldn't necessarily wax lyrical about how cheap PV systems are, because they aren't particularly. Here in the UK the reward you get for the energy you export to the grid is very generous, so they're good value financially, but you do have to stump up a non-trivial amount of cash initially. Payback on my system should be about 8 years, but I'll be laughing for the remaining 17 years I'm owed Feed-In Tariff payments.

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