Leaving things in the on position.

[jewpinthethird]

How many of you never turn off your computer?

And how many of you never turn off your cellphone (and/or some other electronic device)?

Also, besides being a waste of energy, does leaving an electronic device on 24/7 shorten the life of said electronic device?

These are just questions that I've been batting around in my head.

[bluguerrilla]

I never turn my computer or cell phone off. I know it's horrible for battery life, but turning your computer on and off is actually bad for it, no matter what kind of protection the circuitry has. Not sure about cell phones though... They have a pretty short life span anyways.

[DDRBaller123]

I leave my ps2 on sometimes because in the game Marvel Vs Capcom 2 if go to training mode and you stop playing for a long time and stay in traing mode you will get a lot of points so you can buy alot of stuff once you exit out of training mode.

[Cyanite]

I try to avoid turning off my computer, but it's cooling system isn't that great, and the sun shines in my room during the hottest part of the day, every day, so my room gets really freaking hot when it's on. That has to be worse for it than turning it off and on every once in a while.

[NarutoFoxDemon]

Originally Posted by bluguerrilla

I never turn my computer or cell phone off. I know it's horrible for battery life, but turning your computer on and off is actually bad for it, no matter what kind of protection the circuitry has. Not sure about cell phones though... They have a pretty short life span anyways.

Same thing.Sometimes, I will turn off my computer, when I leave, like on a trip out of town, or if I go to the movies.If I go to a friends house, I leave it on, buzzing when I come home.For the cell phone, I leave it on, because I'm usually always expecting a call.When I charge it, I leave it on.

[alster1]

i keep my computer on all the time
unless somethings wrong with it
i hate it when people turn their computer off, and it takes like 3 minutes to turn on

[OrganisM]

I'd rather allow a computer to cool down once in a while.

With cell phones, and all other lithium ion battery devices, the battery has a limited life, and you'll eventually have to replace it. How much you use the battery is one of the biggest factors. That said, if you leave it on constantly, the battery life will shorten. Same with the iPod.

[x So Sick x1]

I keep my computer on for weeks, as do i my cell phone and my fan in my room.
I'll leave my Xbox360 on over-night sometimes because i play music on it as well.

[Kitsune Bandit]

Originally Posted by Cyanite

I try to avoid turning off my computer, but it's cooling system isn't that great, and the sun shines in my room during the hottest part of the day, every day, so my room gets really freaking hot when it's on. That has to be worse for it than turning it off and on every once in a while.

Same for me. My computer kinda sucks all around, and it doesn't help that it doesn't have much ventilation where it is.

Now my PS2, I used to leave that on ALL the time. It didn't effect it then. (Mine's one of the first ones that came out.) I still think that doing that has had some impact on it-- It sounds really bad, and it's starting to perform kinda bad. That could also be just old age, there, with the fact that I can't open it to clean it out, which I really need to do. Yeah, that sounds really bad now, that's probably my fault. Well, I can't leave it on like that anymore, but it was so convenient back then.

But for some reason, I still kinda think that leaving electronics on all the time will shorten it's life span, maybe not a lot, but it will. And that's just my opinion, not to mention, I don't really have any proof for that. =\

[Raveren]

Both are on all the time. Not in some attempt to help it, or cool it down, I just like both to be up and running when I'm ready to use it.

[jewpinthethird]

Glad to see I'm not the only one.

I used to turn my computer off every night because I was a dumbass and bought the brightest and loudest case ever. But now I rock a laptop which is practically silent, so I leave it on all the time. I do close the lid, which is like putting it on stand-by mode, so it uses very little energy. But it's rarely off.

[Nyokou]

Well, my laptop heats up pretty fast, like all the time because I'm on it a lot, and also I guess because I plug in the charger every time I use it. The battery is just horrible, and doesn't last long, and I'm used to having the charger plugged in.

However, when I'm not on it, or don't need to be on or something, I put it to "sleep", but I never shut it down, unless I have to reboot or something, it rarely ever happens.

I agree, waiting for it to start up is a pain, especially my laptop, it's so much slower when starting up again than my dad's computer. My dad always turns it off during the night though. :/

[evilbutterfly]

I put my computer to sleep now because it generates so much heat that if I leave it on it makes my room a friggin oven. I turn the monitor off if I'm gonna be gone for a while because it's better for it. I never use those power management "turn X off if idle for X minutes" things cuz I hate when they activate and I don't want them to. =\

Also, I forget the exact numbers, but turning a computer off/on is only bad for it if you don't leave it on for very long. Like, 6 hours or something. So turning it off at night is actually good.

[-Fallen-]

Don't own a cell phone, anyone who has one is automatically considered ignorant until proven otherwise.

Computer I leave running on standby, shuts off when there's a random power outage or the breakers in the house somehow go screwy and I don't reset them.

[inco]

I leave my computer on, but turn your monitors off! They are what uses the most power, with crts at any rate.

[Triplex72]

Well, I do know that leaving gaming consoles on when you don't need them on will seriously decrease the lifetime of it. It burns out the laser.

[Squeek]

You're all pretty ignorant, you know that?

1) Leaving a computer on is better than turning it off each time.

False. There are so many reasons why.

a) Heat. Computers get hot. Even with fans running, they get hot. It's never enough to get it to the breaking point with just a few hours, but leaving it on all the time is pretty bad for it.

b) Mechanics. Guess what, computers use mechanics to work! Guess what, mechanics wear out! Guess what, things still process in your computer while it's off! So those mechanics are working 24/7 instead of 4-10 hours a day.

c) Power. Le sigh. Monitors do not use the most power of a computer station. Ever notice that computers have a massive power supply with a massive number of cables stretching out every which way and UPSes on every powered component? The average computer has between a 300 and 500 watt power supply in it. Monitors average 100 watts. LCD monitors are only ~50 or less. That's nothing compared to 500. Heck, light bulbs average more than that.

2) Leaving a video game console on is bad for it.

Depends. Is there a game running? Then yes. If not, then no. The laser only kicks in when other components tell it to. Those components usually do that when you insert a disc. The laser doesn't stay on all the time. Run a game console with the cover off and see for yourself. But don't look into the laser or you'll go blind.

Also, same deal with the consoles here as with computers. There are mechanics in there that stay on all the time, constantly doing things. It's better just to turn things off.

3) Leaving on the lights is better for the lights and saves electricity.

MYTH BUSTED. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBus...ights_On.2FOff

Through numerous tests, the MythBusters calculated that the power surge from turning on a light would only consume as much power as leaving it on for a fraction of a second (except for fluorescent tube lights; the startup consumed about 23 seconds worth of power). Furthermore, the wear and tear of turning the light on and off repeatedly did not reduce the bulb's total life expectancy enough to offset the increased electricity usage. Therefore, it is far more economical to turn a light off rather than leaving it on.

Turn stuff off when you're not using it. Always.

[x So Sick x1]

Hmm well my computer has been on 24/7 for about 3 years and it's the cheapest computer i could even buy in a 100 mile radius (200$ new) and when i bought it i said i would run it till it didn't work then buy a new one. At 200$ for a computer, it could last just a year or two and still be way worth the bargain.

But that has nothing to do with this. Yes i leave my computer on and no it hasn't had an overall noticeable effect on my computer.

Oh and cell phones are SUPPOSED to be left on, unless you just want to conserve your battery in it, but it shouldn't affect your overall battery endurance when fully charged.

[Squeek]

Wireless devices really don't count in this. Anything with a rechargeable battery that you take with you isn't what matters. Cell-phones are one thing that should never be off, because then nobody could call you. Simple as that.

Also, you wouldn't see a noticeable difference in computer performance after three years unless you had it in a terrible environment. What you see a difference in is electricity usage. I've turned my computer off every time I finish using it (usually only once a day, but when I'm in school, can be 2-5 times a day as I turn it off before I go to class) and I don't notice a difference either. My old computer is from 2000 and it gets turned on and off multiple times a day, and it still works just fine. There's no "startup wear and tear" like there is with some things in a car. BIOS sends 1s and 0s to your hardware making sure it works, and it replies with 1s and 0s saying it does. That's startup. Then your harddrive spins just like it always does.

Heck, do you leave the shower water running when you're finished? Do you leave the sink running when you're finished? It's the same concept here. Save electricity and turn stuff off when you're not using them. It does not affect the longevity of the product.

[buttonmasher0]

i leave everything on because my main computers have a retarded like cooling system that if you don't leave the computer on its gonna feel like ice when you touch it next time and even when its on its still freezing, as for my laptop i leave it on but rarely plugged in since the less you plug it in the more the battery life, i leave my cell on until it dies cuz i really don't even notice the battery state unless it starts beeping annoyingly