View Full Version : Do you shutdown? Or leave it on?
DBrocks
June 8th, 2008, 12:25 AM
Hey guys. What do you do? Do you shutdown everyday? or leave it on. I have a computer I NEVER turn off. runs 24/7.
BennyHill
June 8th, 2008, 12:26 AM
Shutdown for me, electric too expensive here.
fedex1993
June 8th, 2008, 12:28 AM
if electricity is cheap then yeah keep it on forever. Linux machines have been known to stay on for years. If you own a laptop i would turn it off every now and then. They get hot over time since there smaller and dont have a good airflow like an atx case. I turn my computers off everyday but my home server stays kicking for the last 12 days F@H for me. Now these updates seem to bring it down every once in a while
lisati
June 8th, 2008, 12:29 AM
Laptop: Shut down & kill the mains power
Destkop: It depends.... normally shutdown unless it's rendering video overnight
External networking hardware (wirless & cable router, ADSL modem/router): On 24/7
kevin11951
June 8th, 2008, 12:30 AM
well... my main and only computer is a laptop, so every night, i turn it off. I never leave an of my TV, PS3, etc... on at night.
klange
June 8th, 2008, 12:30 AM
I run a server, take a guess.
I rarely turn off my laptop - only during transport. I suspend it often, though.
rune0077
June 8th, 2008, 12:32 AM
Turn it off. I never understood people who keeps their computers on 24/7 and then brag about their phenomenal uptime - that's just like saying, "Oh look how much I'm paying for electricity I don't even use 'coz I'm sleeping while spending it".
ghindo
June 8th, 2008, 12:43 AM
I have a laptop, so it definitely doesn't stay on for any longer than a few hours at a time.
I'm working on a server though, so that's probably going to be sucking up some electricity.
DeadSuperHero
June 8th, 2008, 12:45 AM
I leave my desktop on all the time.
Heck, I'm going to be there most of the time anyway, why bother to turn it off?
LaRoza
June 8th, 2008, 01:01 AM
I turn my desktop on when I forsee being home for a while and turn it off when I go to bed.
I do not leave it on when I am away or sleeping.
Frak
June 8th, 2008, 01:06 AM
24/7
My G5 Xblade rack (2 blades and a base) runs 24/7 with F@H.
My desktops/laptops also run 24/7. (OG&E standard rate plan of $30 per month.)
Ozor Mox
June 8th, 2008, 01:06 AM
Always shutdown my computer if I am not using it for a while or at night for two reasons:
1. Horrible waste of electricity to leave it on.
2. My computer has the incredible ability to increase the temperature in my room from the standard 21 degrees centigrade to about 28-30 in just a few hours and boil me alive.
Sealbhach
June 8th, 2008, 01:07 AM
There's the environment to consider, not just the price of electricity.
.
damis648
June 8th, 2008, 01:10 AM
I have a laptop which is on most of the day or suspended and I turn it off at night. No desktop anymore :'( Some hardware failure that I was too lazy to fix and spend money on. ;)
Pethegreat
June 8th, 2008, 01:17 AM
When I turn off my desktop and turn it back on, wierd things happen. I leave my computer on as much as possible. It usually gets taken out when the power goes out for a second.
I don't feel like messing with my computer for 20 mintues just to get it to start up and work right.
fissionmailed
June 8th, 2008, 01:20 AM
Desktop, 24/7
Laptop, when I am away from it for a while(sleeping more than a couple of hours, going out for the day etc).
doorman
June 8th, 2008, 01:25 AM
Home desktop & laptop running always during the day, shutdown overnight.
Work desktop & laptops always running 24/7
gameryoshi600
June 8th, 2008, 01:26 AM
I always turn off my computer when I am done or if I am going away for a couple of hours then i put it in suspend or hibernate.
R3VAMP3D
June 8th, 2008, 01:27 AM
Ive got a G3 that runs Debian and stays on 24/7, or however long until the next power outage ;). A old piece of junk windows machine for whatever I fancy on windows which never stays on long, and my linux desktop which stays on however long I need it. I usually keep only one machine on at a time to conserve my power bill :P
ma_nkooo
June 8th, 2008, 01:28 AM
Have to shutdown for poor electricity supply :(
Happy_Man
June 8th, 2008, 01:53 AM
See, for me it depends on the season.
Spring: Variable. Generally depends on two things: whether it's gonna be hot or cold the next morning and if it's a school day (which would neccessitate me keeping it on so that it can wake me up). If the weather is to be hot the next morning and it's the weekend, then the computer goes off, because any heat not being generated is good for me. If cold and/or a school day, then heat/an alarm clock is kind of wanted, therefore it stays on.
Summer: Always off at night.
Fall: Definitely on 24/7, because of the need to get back into the rhythm of waking up at 6:00 AM and because it gets cold at night real fast.
Winter: On. Always on. NO exceptions. Ever. At all.
Of course, it stays on during the times when my family is up and about, since this venerable old box is our mediaserver/ fileserver/ everything server, so regular access is needed.
zmjjmz
June 8th, 2008, 02:03 AM
My Macbook is suspended at night, and my Thinkpad T20 is left running (I can't get it to suspend) but I turn the screen off.
My Thinkpad 560 on the other hand has been running for...
32 days and 17 hours :D
TBOL3
June 8th, 2008, 02:55 AM
Turn off every night. Although, I'm considering hybernation, since it appears to be just backing up the current ram into the HDD, and then reloading it on startup, I think anyway.
ScottLij
June 8th, 2008, 03:03 AM
I shut my machine off every night before I go to bed and then it remains off while I sleep and go to work (about 16 hours a weekday). Just doesn't make sense to leave it on while I'm not using it since it adds to the electricity bill.
roachk71
June 8th, 2008, 03:57 AM
My computer is a microtower (HP Pavilion s3020n), so I'm a bit concerned about leaving it on 24/7. Still, I do prefer to leave it on from an hour before my shift at work (I work from 3:00 to 7:00 am) to immediately after, so that the system can clean up and rotate its logs.
Saves me from having to wait after login. :KS
myusername
June 8th, 2008, 04:19 AM
it goes off for me...my dad gets mad about the power bill
swoll1980
June 8th, 2008, 04:23 AM
The only time my computers get shutdown is when the power goes out.
ChameleonDave
June 8th, 2008, 04:32 AM
Leaving a normal computer on (and not doing anything) while you sleep is an inexcusable waste of a finite resource. I don't leave the lightbulb on in my study overnight, so I don't leave the computer on either.
At this stage, someone usually makes a claim that the boot-up process uses extra electricity. Show the results of a study that quantifies it, or shut up.
oldsoundguy
June 8th, 2008, 04:37 AM
5 computers on 24/7/365. 3 Linux 2 Windows on the network. All on UPS units.
All processing for BOINC
(synaptic has the programs for installation.)
Do some good with the computer time!
User3k
June 8th, 2008, 05:28 AM
My PC is on 24/7 (not the monitors,) most of the time.
MaximB
June 8th, 2008, 05:31 AM
I also never shutdown my PC , it is ALWAYS downloading something, so it's in use ;)
Lord Xeb
June 8th, 2008, 05:31 AM
Mine is on and off. Sometimes it is on for days then off then back on again. It just depends. If I could suspend it, that would be nice, but I can't e_e
timzak
June 8th, 2008, 05:32 AM
I've tested electrical usage with a power meter. I save about $12 per month by turning my computer off before I go to bed and leaving it off while I am at work. To some that may be pocket change, but I'll take every free cent I can get to help balance the budget.
Of course, I practice the same principal with the three other computers we have in our home, as well as lights, electronics, and everything else that is easily shut off when not in use. You'd be surprised how much power electronics and computers use when they are powered OFF! I try to plug things into power strips and leave the power switch on the strip easily reachable. Computers typically draw about 10 watts constantly when powered off. I have printer that consumes 20 watts while in sleep mode. These things get shut off at the power strip to help the environment and my pocketbook.
The biggest electrical user in our home is the DVR which has to stay on 24/7 and it has no sleep mode. At a constant 80 watts of usage, it costs me almost $8 per month. My fridge costs $6 per month.
rage-against-windows
June 8th, 2008, 05:38 AM
I had a desktop that was always on for like years the only time it was ever off was when there was a power outage. We have a pretty large family and someone was always on it so no point in turning it off. About a year ago, a friend hooked us all up on some sweet laptops, and each member of the family got there own, so the desktop lost its rank as main machine and we all just use our laptops now. I always turn mine off at night. Im not sure its really ment to run 24/7 like the desktop.
NovaAesa
June 8th, 2008, 06:02 AM
My laptop (Ubuntu) is turned off when I'm not using it for more than 2 hours.
My desktop (Win XP) is running 24/7, although most of the time hibernating or on standby or whatever they call it.
Methuselah
June 8th, 2008, 06:13 AM
Never shut down.
Either leaving a long download going or listening to music as I go off to sleep. Thankfully linux does not degrade in performance over days of uptime the way windows XP did.
NikoC
June 8th, 2008, 06:18 AM
Just to save some electricity and subsequently the environment, I always shut down...
Nameless Neko
June 8th, 2008, 06:22 AM
Lately, I've been getting in the habit of turning my PC off when I'm going to work, though I normally leave it on when I'm going to sleep. It just feels weird sleeping without that familiar blue glow from my case and the humming of my PC fan.
Flintlock
June 8th, 2008, 06:29 AM
I leave mine on 24/7 I do not sleep well so I am on mine all the time. I also have it doing Folding@Home for team 163.
EdThaSlayer
June 8th, 2008, 10:19 AM
Since I only have a laptop computer, I turn it off every time I'm done using it. I only keep it on when it has to do some type of work that takes hours or when I'm downloading some huge ISO file. :D
samjh
June 8th, 2008, 10:29 AM
Hey guys. What do you do? Do you shutdown everyday? or leave it on. I have a computer I NEVER turn off. runs 24/7.
Shutdown if it's not going to be used for more than 5 minutes.
Christmas
June 8th, 2008, 10:43 AM
Never shutdown. And it's in my bedroom :-)
JohnSearle
June 8th, 2008, 10:49 AM
Only leave it on if I'm downloading something, and even then usually only when it's important.
My electricity is included in my rent, so I'm not doing it to save money, but rather to save the environment. We should all stop being wasteful.
- John
Barrucadu
June 8th, 2008, 10:54 AM
^ I never understand it when people say that. The fuel will be burned regardless of usage. It's not like all the power plants only produce the exact amount needed power.
Anyway, I tend to leave my computer on recently as I am ripping my DVD collection currently.
billgoldberg
June 8th, 2008, 10:56 AM
My desktop pc is on weeks at a time (running local server), I turn my laptop off when I go to sleep.
Besides running as a server it also downloads all my podcasts automatically (using miro) and downloads all my torrents using RSS so I kind of have to leave it on to avoid all of it being downloaded at the same time, crippling my internet connect.
bobdob20
June 8th, 2008, 10:58 AM
I turn mine off when i go to sleep, or go out for more that an hour unless its downloading something. Mine doesn't take long to boot so it doesn't make much different if its off when i come to use it.
JohnSearle
June 8th, 2008, 11:04 AM
^ I never understand it when people say that. The fuel will be burned regardless of usage. It's not like all the power plants only produce the exact amount needed power.
Anyway, I tend to leave my computer on recently as I am ripping my DVD collection currently.
The rationale behind putting up new power plants is based on the consumption of the power. When we set trends of high constant usage, then the politicians start to look into putting up new plants to keep supply with the demand. You're setting future trends.
Furthermore, in both the US and Canada there have been recent brownouts and blackouts due to power consumption. This wasteful usage is a large part of that. The politicians see this as reason to add more plants, which would actually be unnecessary if people would reduce consumption - such as turning the computer off.
EDIT: I'm also not fully convinced that a power plants cannot regulate their output. It would seem like a very large technical oversight to build a plant that cannot choose how much fuel to convert to energy. I'll have to look into that in the future to find out for myself, but my guess is that they can.
- John
Barrucadu
June 8th, 2008, 01:19 PM
I never said they couldn't regulate the output.
imT
June 8th, 2008, 01:27 PM
i have a desktop, i only shut down when i'm not in town and when my internet is down; i do restart it once at 2 days on average.
JohnSearle
June 8th, 2008, 01:34 PM
I never said they couldn't regulate the output.
My apologies, let my clarify myself. I meant regulating fuel consumption via regulating the output. For instance, tossing less coal in to stoke the fire produces less energy (thus regulating output).
I am not familiar with the intricacies of modern nuclear or coal plants, so I'm not going to pretend to know if this is possible; but I would believe it more likely than not that they have the ability to regulate the fuel consumption. And once again, if they didn't build the plants with this ability, then I think it would be a grave oversight by the engineers.
The fuel will be burned regardless of usage.
Now if you were talking in the long run that we will eventually burn all the fuel anyway, which I doubt that is what you meant, and thus it doesn't matter what we use, then that is a sad perspective you have. Once again, though, I doubt that is what you meant.
- John
barbedsaber
June 8th, 2008, 01:44 PM
I keep mine on, because it takes like 8 minutes to boot. (Some LILO thing, am looking into it now, if you know about LILO, please PM me)
fatality_uk
June 8th, 2008, 04:36 PM
Hey guys. What do you do? Do you shutdown everyday? or leave it on. I have a computer I NEVER turn off. runs 24/7.
Why?? I mean do you have heart monitors running for a local hospital through VNC? Does you machine control the movement of rods at the local nuclear power station?
*sigh*
Ozor Mox
June 8th, 2008, 04:46 PM
Too true. I know this comment is going to be particularly unpopular, but you people who leave your home computers on 24/7 should be ashamed of yourselves.
teet
June 8th, 2008, 04:52 PM
I always shut my computers down. I only need to use my desktop for ~4 to 8 hours a day. When I get home in the evening, I usually head straight to my office and fire up the desktop. I then go do other stuff (e.g. take a shower since I've usually been to the gym) so the boot time really doesn't bother me.
I bet a lot of people would put their system into suspend/hibernate if they could. I have never gotten my system to come out of a suspend/hibernate correctly. Heck, I can't even suspend (stand by) in Windows XP (although hibernate does work).
I noticed some people said they left their laptops on all the time...this seems like a really bad idea to me. IMO, laptops are designed to be used in short spurts. I know my laptop starts to get really hot after being on for ~8 hours (and that's with a cooling pad thing).
-teet
Frak
June 8th, 2008, 04:56 PM
Why?? I mean do you have heart monitors running for a local hospital through VNC? Does you machine control the movement of rods at the local nuclear power station?
*sigh*
Too true. I know this comment is going to be particularly unpopular, but you people who leave your home computers on 24/7 should be ashamed of yourselves.
1. My desktops and laptops run 24/7 as a team of folders to help cure diseases.
2. I have a SERVER. It also folds, but it hosts some websites, so it must always be online.
fatality_uk
June 8th, 2008, 05:08 PM
1. My desktops and laptops run 24/7 as a team of folders to help cure diseases.
2. I have a SERVER. It also folds, but it hosts some websites, so it must always be online.
Fine! But there are plenty of people leaving them on for NO reason.
imT
June 8th, 2008, 05:13 PM
Why?? I mean do you have heart monitors running for a local hospital through VNC? Does you machine control the movement of rods at the local nuclear power station?
*sigh*
:) i don't keep it for the nice sound of the cooler, i keep it because i "USE" the internet,... i don't wanna be to explicit :) and i know there are many others that do the same.
RandomJoe
June 9th, 2008, 12:09 AM
Back when all I had was desktops, I left everything on. I often had Dnet going, or something similar, and liked being able to just sit down and go. Then I got a laptop. With that as my primary machine, I started getting back in the habit of turning things off when not in use. 1-1/2 years ago I built my current desktop system and pretty quickly got back into leaving it on - I'd leave all kinds of apps up and ready to go on the multiple screens (turn the screens off, of course) but then I noticed the room got quite warm in the summer...
So, currently I do a bit of both. In the back room, I have a firewall box, and a server, that stay up 24x7 - I often connect in remotely when at work, and the server is my media machine when I'm at home. It takes an eternity to restart, so I find that annoying... (Lame, yeah...) My desktops and laptops, however, get shut down when not in use. The room is cooler and quieter, and they don't take that long to start anyway.
I'm on a bit of an energy-conservation kick at the moment (I usually do that when the heat of summer arrives...!) and am considering things I could do to get the server to lower power usage (it's a P4 system, unfortunately) and may even just go back to using the WRT54G as the firewall/router box instead of a dedicated machine.
I'm also tempted to go back to a laptop as my primary system, as it uses 1/10th the power of my desktop system! But oh, I so love the four heads and incredible speed and... and... and... On the other hand, I can take the laptop out back and sit on the patio!
Another good excuse for me to shut down at night: I'm far less likely to get on the web in the mornings! I found myself spending so much time browsing when I got up that I'd have to rush getting ready and I wouldn't eat breakfast, or take my lunch (and wind up eating out). Expensive and not very healthy!
RandomJoe
June 9th, 2008, 12:20 AM
^ I never understand it when people say that. The fuel will be burned regardless of usage. It's not like all the power plants only produce the exact amount needed power.
Not true.
While there are certain plants (nukes, some coal-fired) that are "base-load" plants and can't be turned down below a certain minimum output, the grid as a whole most certainly does have the ability to reduce total output in response to reduced consumption. Many coal-fired, and particularly natural gas fired plants, can adjust their output by a considerable margin (even to "off" in the natural gas case) quite easily. These are the "peak load" plants that get fired up when everyone turns on the A/C when they get home. Or, in severe cases, they get left running full-tilt too because of insufficient capacity and you start to see brown-outs.
Now, they aren't going to see one PC turned on/off, but - again - the aggregate is what matters. If everyone turns off the PC when not in use, or light bulbs or whatever else, then it easily adds up to a sufficient amount to be noticed by the system.
An interesting situation develops if consumption is reduced enough - normally, because a major power line is knocked out - if the total output required for the section of grid a "base load" plant lives in drops below the total output of that plant, they actually have to shut it down! They do have some ways to "waste" the power for a short time, if needed, but if the load doesn't come back up in a certain period of time, the plant is taken offline. And they usually take a considerable amount of time to get going again too.
grossaffe
June 9th, 2008, 12:22 AM
I leave it on because my computer fights me when turning on.
beast2k
June 9th, 2008, 01:14 AM
Hey guys. What do you do? Do you shutdown everyday? or leave it on. I have a computer I NEVER turn off. runs 24/7.
Mine is on all the time.:) Perhaps you can edit the first post and add a poll ?
Barriehie
June 9th, 2008, 01:16 AM
On all the time; only reboot when switching to XP to play a game.
Barrie
danbuter
June 9th, 2008, 01:18 AM
I shut down, but I use Ubuntu on a laptop.
y6FgBn)~v
June 9th, 2008, 01:18 AM
Off when I'm not using it.
sstusick
June 9th, 2008, 01:26 AM
I never shut my laptop down. I have a laptop cooling pad, so that prevents it from overheating. I have friends though that will shut down the computer every time they leave it, even if it's for an hour...which is ridiculous. They're wasting more electricity AND stressing the components by constantly turning it on and off. No sense in turning my laptop off, because I am ON and OFF it all day. I do not want to wait for the machine to boot up every time I want to use it.
Totalchaos02
June 9th, 2008, 01:36 AM
When your startup time is like 30 seconds why wouldn't you shut off your computer?
mthei
June 9th, 2008, 01:38 AM
I shut down every night, and suspend if I do something not computer related during the day.
sstusick
June 9th, 2008, 01:39 AM
30 seconds is a LONG time when you're waiting.
chex313
June 9th, 2008, 02:23 AM
24/7 Folding@Home
Kronie
June 9th, 2008, 03:34 AM
try to leave it on, but sometimes have to restart -_-
s3r4phim
June 9th, 2008, 04:02 AM
My tower serves weather data to findu.com. the call is CW7188. Here it is, in fact:
http://findu.com/cgi-bin/wxpage.cgi?call=CW7188&last=240
as you can see, the server goes down occasionally. The latest break in the data was when the network cable it was running of of snapped (the little Ethernet connector, at least). For the life of me i wont know how.
D-EJ915
June 10th, 2008, 04:02 AM
I use the computer so much as is, it would only be off for about 5 hours during a 24 hour period so shutting it off just makes it a pain for me because I have to reopen all my programs. I have it folding so at least it's doing something other than heating my room.
I do, however, unplug all my other computers when I'm not using them.
gabhla
June 10th, 2008, 04:18 AM
Mine is on 24/7.
wolfen69
June 10th, 2008, 04:33 AM
24/7, as i am always seeding iso's on bittorrent.
NikoC
June 10th, 2008, 06:38 AM
"Home electronics and small household appliances (such as televisions (TVs), video cassette recorders (VCRs), telephone answering machines, cordless phones, portable power tools, office equipment, etc.) draw energy not only when they are in use, but also when the power is ostensibly off. This phenomenon is known as "leaking electricity." Leaking electricity is responsible for an estimated 45 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity consumed by U.S. households each year—nearly 5 percent of total residential electricity use—and costs U.S. consumers more than $3.5 billion annually. In the past few years, researchers in the United States, Europe, Japan, and elsewhere have made considerable progress in understanding the energy losses, potential savings, and markets for products that leak electricity. This information is enabling policymakers to make better decisions about effective approaches that they can take to address leaking electricity. At this point, at least one significant joint government-industry initiative has begun in the United States and others are being discussed. Not surprisingly, these initiatives focus on those markets where the greatest potential energy savings lie. Additional opportunities exist to save a large fraction of the remaining standby and off-mode power waste. Preliminary estimates show that leaking electricity could be reduced by almost 75 percent through the use of improved components and product designs."
Source: http://www.aceee.org/pubs/a981.htm
Think twice when you put your machine in standby or keep it running when not working on it...
articpenguin
June 10th, 2008, 02:01 PM
I leave it on for the whole day than shut it off. But in the summer i turn it off when i am done because of the 3 ACs that my family has in the house.
_DD_
June 10th, 2008, 03:12 PM
Desktop stays on for the whole day and is shut down at night. It auto powers-on again at 7am.
Laptop boots fairly quickly so I turn it on when I need it and shut it down after. If I know I'm going to be using it again fairly soon then I use standby, which means instant-on and very little battery used (I accidentally left it in standby for 18 hours last night which only used 4% of the battery).
If I were to be working on my laptop (on my desk) for a long time then I would discharge and remove the batteries and dock it. This way the batteries don't detiorate so much from being constantly fully charged and hot, and the laptop is raised up a bit when its docked so there's airflow underneath and it stays quite cool.
timzak
June 10th, 2008, 03:35 PM
Interesting. If you read my post a few pages back, you'll see I experienced this phenomenon first hand when testing with a power meter. I mentioned plugging many computers and appliances into power strips to make it easy to shut the power completely. I've been very proactive throughout my house in setting things up this way. Only when it is not feasible, do I not do it. For example, the charging dock for my mouse, the cable modem, and the router need to be on 24/7, but the rest of the computer can be shut off completely. So I wire my components into separate power strips to facilitate ease of power cutoff.
Between doing this and switching all my bulbs to CFLs, my monthly electric bill has gone down between 20-45% (winter/spring closer to 45%; summer/fall closer to 20%).
"Home electronics and small household appliances (such as televisions (TVs), video cassette recorders (VCRs), telephone answering machines, cordless phones, portable power tools, office equipment, etc.) draw energy not only when they are in use, but also when the power is ostensibly off. This phenomenon is known as "leaking electricity." Leaking electricity is responsible for an estimated 45 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity consumed by U.S. households each year—nearly 5 percent of total residential electricity use—and costs U.S. consumers more than $3.5 billion annually. In the past few years, researchers in the United States, Europe, Japan, and elsewhere have made considerable progress in understanding the energy losses, potential savings, and markets for products that leak electricity. This information is enabling policymakers to make better decisions about effective approaches that they can take to address leaking electricity. At this point, at least one significant joint government-industry initiative has begun in the United States and others are being discussed. Not surprisingly, these initiatives focus on those markets where the greatest potential energy savings lie. Additional opportunities exist to save a large fraction of the remaining standby and off-mode power waste. Preliminary estimates show that leaking electricity could be reduced by almost 75 percent through the use of improved components and product designs."
Source: http://www.aceee.org/pubs/a981.htm
Think twice when you put your machine in standby or keep it running when not working on it...
Skorzen
June 10th, 2008, 03:39 PM
I must shutdown or my laptop just burns!
EnergySamus
June 10th, 2008, 04:35 PM
My laptop would overheat if I didn't shutdown...
EnergySamus
EnergySamus
June 10th, 2008, 04:37 PM
Desktop stays on for the whole day and is shut down at night. It auto powers-on again at 7am.
Laptop boots fairly quickly so I turn it on when I need it and shut it down after. If I know I'm going to be using it again fairly soon then I use standby, which means instant-on and very little battery used (I accidentally left it in standby for 18 hours last night which only used 4% of the battery).
If I were to be working on my laptop (on my desk) for a long time then I would discharge and remove the batteries and dock it. This way the batteries don't detiorate so much from being constantly fully charged and hot, and the laptop is raised up a bit when its docked so there's airflow underneath and it stays quite cool.
I've been looking into a dock for my 15 inch laptop, can you tell me what you have?
EnergySamus
_DD_
June 10th, 2008, 04:54 PM
I have a HP NC8430 (a few years old now). Its a specific dock for that HP series [link (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Basic-Docking-Station-Smart-Adapter/dp/B000FQIR4A/ref=pd_sbs_ce_img_3)]. (By the way they're not nearly that expensive if you look on ebay :D I paid next to nothing)
If your laptop has a dock connector on the bottom or side then there's most likely one for your model - check on the manufacturer's website to see what they offer. Some docks are actual docking stations that your laptop locks into, while others are port replicators. You can normally easily spot a dock connector if you have one - it just looks like a strange long connector!
BreakDecks
June 10th, 2008, 05:07 PM
I once got curious to see how long my computer had been on. I typed uptime and was shocked to find out that it had been running for over 6 months without being shut down. Of course, I was using this computer as a server, so I never needed to shut it down / restart it. I kept it on for a long while after that, so I would guess it was on for more that 250 days, but I never got to see the offical uptime since that marathon run was ended by a power outage.
dasunst3r
June 10th, 2008, 05:11 PM
I put my laptop on standby whenever I'm not using it.
Linuxratty
June 10th, 2008, 06:40 PM
Shutdown for me, electric too expensive here.
Shutdown here too.
EnergySamus
June 10th, 2008, 07:16 PM
I have a HP NC8430 (a few years old now). Its a specific dock for that HP series [link (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Basic-Docking-Station-Smart-Adapter/dp/B000FQIR4A/ref=pd_sbs_ce_img_3)]. (By the way they're not nearly that expensive if you look on ebay :D I paid next to nothing)
If your laptop has a dock connector on the bottom or side then there's most likely one for your model - check on the manufacturer's website to see what they offer. Some docks are actual docking stations that your laptop locks into, while others are port replicators. You can normally easily spot a dock connector if you have one - it just looks like a strange long connector!
My manufacturer doesn't make one, but I was looking at this:http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/notebook_products/stands/&cl=us,en
The Alto stands are awesome
EnergySamus
regomodo
June 10th, 2008, 08:01 PM
my pc runs pretty quiet and i've set it up to use as little as poss' power. It's always seeding. I've got to get that ratio!
However, when i've got to get up early or have a dissertation due i tend to turn it off to get the best possible sleep.
MaindotC
June 10th, 2008, 08:04 PM
My T60 DOES get extremely hot but I leave it on. It doesn't help that I'm in a house for the summer with no air conditioning so the fan is constantly running at top speed. I'm wondering how leaving it on constanly will affect the life of the hardware.
Paqman
June 10th, 2008, 09:24 PM
If i'm not using it, it's off.
I also recently got a NAS which has a torrent client built in. No more leaving the PC on overnight just to download something! The NAS only draws about 10W, so i'm saving a truckload of electricity.
RebounD11
June 10th, 2008, 11:18 PM
I leave it on 24/7 since I run a CounterStrike server, a DC-hub and a FTP server on it... and I like to brag about my uptime because on Windows you can never get those uptimes even if you wanted to.
Someone said that leaving it on is just wasting electricity while sleeping ... well in the last 2 months I've been sleeping around 8-12 hours per week (yes I do look like I just rose from the dead... still waiting for the night that will give me at least 8 hours of sleep) so that wouldn't apply to me even if I didn't have all those servers running.
GRAYgoose12
June 10th, 2008, 11:20 PM
well i just got a 1400$ computer that my dad would kill me if it gets damaged so i turn it off when im not using it unless im on ubuntu cause its so much safer then i just put it in sleep:KS
Polygon
June 10th, 2008, 11:21 PM
i recently found out that some update made it so that suspend worked on my desktop pc without it bugging out when i brought it out, so now when i go to bed at night i just put it in standby
and for my laptop i just close the lid (standby) when im not using it.
wannadumpwindows
June 10th, 2008, 11:26 PM
I let my desktop run 24/7. I have a server that's also always on. My laptops get shutdown if they're not going to be used for more than an hour.
bmac
June 10th, 2008, 11:43 PM
I leave it on 24/7. Almost all switching power supplies I've seen fail, have done so on start up. However I do strongly advise the use of a UPS and/or surge protection....
OUCaptain
June 11th, 2008, 12:15 AM
Right now, I shut everything down including server unless I'm downloading something large. Same reason I turn off the lights when I leave the room.
My next apartment however is "all bills paid". I think the servers might get a bit more uptime.
matchstich
June 11th, 2008, 02:41 AM
i shut down, then i kill all power going to everything.
save the electric bill.
dchosenb
June 11th, 2008, 03:39 AM
I tend to leave it on for a few reasons:
IM is on of my chief forms of communication, and I communicate with enough people in enough time zones that its worthwhile to be able to receive IMs from them (though I suppose that is what email is for)
I seed torrents, usually during the night when I'm not using my computer.
If I am out town for a few days, I'll turn it off. Also, on extremely hot days (100 degrees Fahrenheit today! :mad:), I turn it off for most of the day just to give the cooling mechanisms a break.
Theres plenty I suppose I could do to cut back on energy expenditures - unplugging things like the xbox, shut down the computer, turn refrigerator to a lower setting, etc. But then frugality is a trait I definitely can at best strive for...
Ken
Robux the great
June 11th, 2008, 05:52 AM
Come on guys
Think about the environment
Shut it down when not in use
Regards
Rob
NJC
June 11th, 2008, 07:52 AM
"Additional opportunities exist to save a large fraction of the remaining standby and off-mode power waste."
Think twice when you put your machine in standby or keep it running when not working on it...
I didn't read the whole article, but from the quote provided it seems as if electricity is "leaked" in both standby AND off states. So standby is not necessarily a culprit.
pmlxuser
June 11th, 2008, 08:06 AM
i shutdown my machine its too small to be kept on all day long its an acer travelmate 3010 it easily gets veryhot and i don't wanna regret someday. so as a precautionery measure i shut it down everyday with "$ sudo shutdown -h 60 sleep"
corrupted_by_sin
June 11th, 2008, 02:35 PM
on 24/7, just cus i always have somthing happening on my pc. installing updates/applications and obviously music lol if im in my room n there is no music i might aswell be dead. last time i turned it off for anything else but a quick restart was to add some extra ram and to switch those damn bright led lights off on my case. they where bight enough to be seen in space i think, didnt even need any other lights in my room lol
underground
June 11th, 2008, 02:45 PM
I almost never shut down my computer...actually there is no need for it..if it's not me in front of the pc it wil be my father or my sister...the rest hours it is downloading or doing something else....
aeiah
June 11th, 2008, 02:53 PM
i leave it on when im awake in my apartment, and off when im out or sleeping. why spend money on the electricity bill and damage the environment more for the sake of leaning over to switch it on?
i do leave my modem on all the time though. the pc and hdtv get turned off at the wall.
bobdob20
June 11th, 2008, 03:25 PM
If people are leaving their computers on all the time to download things, it makes you wonder what they are constantly downloading? I'm guessing not everyone has fast internet and therefore takes awhile to download larger application, but what about the other people?
public_void
June 11th, 2008, 03:59 PM
Turn my Laptop on when I get up and off when I go to bed. It will run throughout the day even if I'm away because it runs Folding@Home.
timzak
June 11th, 2008, 04:02 PM
I'm not sure how standby mode varies between computers, but I was shocked to find out that when my computer goes into standby, it still uses about 100 watts (as opposed to ~150 when sitting idle). I have a power meter that when you plug an appliance into, it says how much power is being drawn.
i recently found out that some update made it so that suspend worked on my desktop pc without it bugging out when i brought it out, so now when i go to bed at night i just put it in standby
and for my laptop i just close the lid (standby) when im not using it.
Eisenwinter
June 11th, 2008, 04:14 PM
It depends how many hours I'm going to be away from my apartment.
if it's 4+, I usually turn my computer off.
I turn it off every 2 days or so, usually, unless I don't have work at all.
Machines need to rest also.
blazercist
June 11th, 2008, 08:55 PM
I used to leave my desktop on 24/7 til I got married and then my wife complained that it bothered her and she couldn't sleep. My laptop stays in the kitchen area generally so its on 24/7 and my ps3 is on 24/7 too. my electric bill is abotu $100 a month for my whole apartment so i doubt that the comps are suckin up alot of juice. The life of the computers being on 24/7 is another issue, but I tend to unpgrade every 2-3 years so I haven't had any serious hardware problems yet.
NikoC
June 13th, 2008, 06:52 AM
I didn't read the whole article, but from the quote provided it seems as if electricity is "leaked" in both standby AND off states. So standby is not necessarily a culprit.
True...
But machines in standby do use up a certain amount of electricity... of course one machine doesn't make a difference, but if you add up all equipment in standby mode let's say all over the US you do get a huge power consumption that can easily be avoided...
NJC
June 15th, 2008, 06:38 AM
True...
But machines in standby do use up a certain amount of electricity... of course one machine doesn't make a difference, but if you add up all equipment in standby mode let's say all over the US you do get a huge power consumption that can easily be avoided...
In Ubuntu, everything shuts off (as opposed to XP where the CPU fan continues to run) ... so I assume only the processor is drawing power. Surely it would have to be <5W - which in Canada is useful for about 8-9 months of the year as it heats the room. I get the impression folks using desktop machines don't know about Standby modes - but that's of course purely speculative.
RiceMonster
June 15th, 2008, 06:41 AM
I usually suspend it. Just because it'll use a lot less power, and it will start up right away when I want to use it.
Sunflower1970
June 15th, 2008, 07:17 AM
I shut down. Almost always. Every few weekends the desktop will stay on Fri night, Sat, & Sun, then goes off Sun night.
Laptop goes into suspend.
Kalleo
June 15th, 2008, 09:30 AM
Since my Linux comp is also acting as a server, I never turn it of.
I try to remember to turn of my Windows comp when I'm not using it though.
XpTheUndead-
June 15th, 2008, 12:43 PM
Even though they say you can leave it on 24/7...I dont....I dont like to waste electricity and money...plus my monitor will last longer too..
jbaerbock
June 15th, 2008, 01:42 PM
I shutdown my laptop because well it is a laptop afterall. But if I had a linux Desktop I'd most likely leave it on 24/7.
mdsmedia
June 15th, 2008, 02:06 PM
Leaving a normal computer on (and not doing anything) while you sleep is an inexcusable waste of a finite resource. I don't leave the lightbulb on in my study overnight, so I don't leave the computer on either.
At this stage, someone usually makes a claim that the boot-up process uses extra electricity. Show the results of a study that quantifies it, or shut up.Sorry, but you may be right or you may be wrong. Show the result of a study that quantifies it, or shut up.
afeasfaerw23231233
June 15th, 2008, 02:29 PM
i leave it on 24/7. i am considering buying this cool stuff with 1GB RAM http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/D201GLY2/index.htm . if it could save 40W than i could recover the cost in two year. also i think that celeron 220 should be s bit faster than my poor old p4 1.8G
thrasher6900
June 15th, 2008, 02:42 PM
I leave mine on. I've heard that it's better based on the principle of what happens to metal over time when being heated and cooled and then heated again.
Call me ghetto, but 20oz soda caps fit nicely on the pads on the bottom of my laptop. I also keep a fan blowing on it for airflow(not just for the computer, I have to have constant circulation anyway lol)
What I don't get is, how do mac-books run so well without any ventalition? Is there a liquid cooling system in them or something?
Chame_Wizard
June 15th, 2008, 02:45 PM
have to shut down
thrasher6900
June 15th, 2008, 02:47 PM
Shutdown for me, electric too expensive here.
Something that only uses 18 volts of electricity cost that much in electricity:???:?
thrasher6900
June 15th, 2008, 02:50 PM
Sorry, but you may be right or you may be wrong. Show the result of a study that quantifies it, or shut up.
I thought that computers consumed less electricity than most electronics?:popcorn:
afeasfaerw23231233
June 15th, 2008, 07:26 PM
I thought that computers consumed less electricity than most electronics?:popcorn:
anyone got a 'kill-a-watt' meter to show what's the difference between full load and idle power consumption?
Frak
June 15th, 2008, 08:04 PM
anyone got a 'kill-a-watt' meter to show what's the difference between full load and idle power consumption?
Full load uses more power than an idle - That is truism my friend.
PetruM
June 15th, 2008, 08:15 PM
I always shutdown, to save power. :D There's no point to leave it on unless it has something to do. ;)
mini_g
June 16th, 2008, 02:02 AM
I leave my laptop on for days on end. My desktop is mostly ran as an expensive AP->AP bridge for the downstairs network at this point, so it's left off most of the time.
They are both running Rosetta@home.
Mateo
June 16th, 2008, 02:15 AM
Turn it off. People leave their computers on all the time (at the sacrifice of energy) because it's a hassle to wait for startup. Soon startup times are going to be much faster, especially with things like Asus' linux on the mobo. There will be less of a reason to waste energy.
Mateo
June 16th, 2008, 02:16 AM
I thought that computers consumed less electricity than most electronics?:popcorn:
i'm pretty sure it's expensive. i saw someone do the math on IRC one time (someone who leaves their computer on all the time) and were surprised by how expensive it is..
afeasfaerw23231233
June 16th, 2008, 07:18 AM
Full load uses more power than an idle - That is truism my friend.
yes, of course. but by how much?
Frak
June 16th, 2008, 05:43 PM
yes, of course. but by how much?
...more :(
spupy
June 16th, 2008, 06:45 PM
I hibernate it. Longest time without shutdown or hibernate was 48 hours. With hibernate - 36 days. I don't like to shutdown my computer unless there is some problem that requires to. With hibernate i always know that it will boot up and my stuff will be there.
F1y3r3
June 16th, 2008, 06:54 PM
I turn it off. I leave the server on though.
BLTicklemonster
June 16th, 2008, 07:16 PM
I keep it on. The bigger carbon footprint I leave, the more plants grow. But wait. If we all reduce out carbon footprint, and the plants DON'T grow... Vegans will be forced to eat meat.
I'm turning mine off right now!!!
LookTJ
June 16th, 2008, 07:45 PM
I restart on kernel updates, other than that it runs 24/7.
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