PC Continuous Operation: 24/7, 365 Days a Year - Official Guidelines & Adaptability Factors

Hello. As in the topic on various forums, I read that pc computers are adapted to continuous work, but I can not find any official confirmation that Pc can work like this?

He can work all day and that's all for this topic. What do you need "official confirmations" for?

Thanks for the answer I need the confirmation to be sure that I will not damage the computer in this way I read that the computer destroys itself on and off and the working one works longer, but I got such information on other forums, not e.g. from some official article about it.

For me, an IBM R51 notebook with a docking station (home computer) works 24/7/365 because it works as a Skype phone and performs a whole lot of other functions (including remote home monitoring) for 5 years. And what ? And nothing

Turning the power on and off can shorten the life of the ATX power supply, but that's it. Someday you will have to turn it off, if only to vacuum it.

In my company, computers work all the time. When they are turned on after purchase, they are only turned off when they are replaced due to the advancement of technology. Nobody ever vacuums them ... And if there is a shortage of electricity, it is an impressive UPS.

So the computer should not be turned off if there is no such need?

24/7 continuous work is much more harmful to the monitor. My computer has been running non-stop for 8-10 years and the switch turns off, among others. monitor, printer, etc. (with natural breaks such as power failure, upgrade, vacuuming once a year)

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During this time, you had to buy a new monitor 3 times

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it was damaged only once when I connected the polsat tuner to RS232 and smoke came out of the motherboard

In my company, the computer has been running non-stop for 13 years (the old good Pentium 133 Mhz) controls the technological process, and nothing is happening to it.

In my case, two computers ran 24/7 and the only thing that was happening were the blurring of the fan. If you clean the computer from time to time and possibly lubricate or replace the seized fan. This PC can easily run 24/7. I have always done with the monitor so that the PC turns off after a minute of not using it. My PCs flickered like this for 5 years, then I replaced them with another one, but not due to wear and tear on the PC.

There is no problem with the continuous operation of the computer. I have been working 24 / h for almost three years, a home server on Pentium III with a motherboard on the simplest ULi chipset. It acts as a firewall, wifi access point, data storage and a tool for "permanent sucking of data from the Internet".
The equipment is really old, closed in a mini ATX casing and cooled only with a fan from the power supply.

The longer it walks, the more it wears out. The on / off cycles are also harmful.
Mechanics, ie fans, drives, etc. have fallen the fastest since long operation. The next ones are electrolytic capacitors (power supply, board). The rest is fairly permanent.

Unused, it also wears out: corrosion of tin, connectors, switches, etc.

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I currently have a k8 u-nf3 motherboard bought as a part of stock sale after plugging in, it caused problems and I thought it was damaged but it turned out that the motherboard. it started to work properly after about 1-2 days from switching on, so I do not turn off the PC at all (the previous one was identical, but I burned it inadvertently)

As a colleague noticed - in my home server, once in a while I replaced the capacitors in the power supply and the motherboard, and so it's 24/7/365. And surprisingly - capacitors fell faster than the hard drive.

I remember the times of SDI when old computers were used as servers to share the link. I spent the longest time working in one company for 7 years, and then the future neostrada and the functional equipment was scrapped.

The author's question is NOT "stupid".

Overall the PC is made to be able to run 24/7 but ....

Response:
-> depends on what equipment [motherboard, power supply, gpu, cpu], what reliability and what load.
If it is going to be an extreme load, then you need to provide good cooling.

In addition, it is also necessary to consider how long [how many years] the system is to operate. After a few years on poor equipment [eg. power supply] capacitors may "evaporate".

There is a very nice video on YouTube showing that, under full stress, our beloved PCs, unfortunately, JUST IRRELATELY SLEEP !!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeFyUiV6gxI&feature=related

Quote:

pc are designed for continuous operation but can't find any official confirmation

When you watch the above video, you will understand why no one dared to do something like this. All in all, even the best computer can be destroyed (not even by unscrewing the case and "throwing" it, and maybe not even overclocking it) in less than a week.

Of course, the video is only illustrative. When choosing an architecture / manufacturer, do NOT limit yourself to just him.

If it is only to be a "server" that will play something on Ethernet from time to time, then practically every ordinary PeCet will be too good.

In addition, you also need to pay attention to the software. So what if the equipment is great, like the program, will hang every 2 days ...

Only the manufacturer's warranty remains.

My main point is whether after a normal day of work on the pc I have to turn it off or healthier if it is turned on at night. My pc config is Intel Core 2 Duo e6750, Gigabyte EX38-DS4 2x2Gb Kingston 1066, 2x1Gb Kingston 800, Sapphire Radeon HD3850 512mb 256bit, Modecom Carbon 550wat, Samsung HD501lj 500gb

And a separate matter. Some people turn off the computer for reasons of economy. After all, he also consumes energy ...

Sure, it's better to turn it off at night and disconnect it from the power supply completely (strip with a switch). Savings, and the power supply does not even wear out.

Answering the title question, the above-mentioned may of course, but if it does not have to, what for?

A cheap strip "not for idiots" can make black pudding, which the power supply must then consume when the strip lets you know about the end date of the warranty (how many times have I seen it)

I found something like this ??:

Computer on and off cycles
As mentioned earlier, changes in temperature to which a computer is exposed adversely affect its components. However, the greatest differences in temperature to which a computer is exposed occur when it warms up, immediately after turning it on. Turning on a cold computer subjects it to the greatest possible variation in internal temperature. If the computer is to function as long as possible and without any problems, you should limit the temperature changes inside it. There are two simple ways to help reduce sudden changes in temperature inside your computer. One is never turning on the computer, and the other is never turning it off. Of both options, the latter will most likely be chosen. Leaving the computer running permanently is the best way I know of ensuring its reliability. If your only concern is with how long your computer will function, the simplest recommendation is never to turn it off. However, in real-world conditions, there are additional factors to pay attention to - electricity costs and the fact that a computer left unattended poses the risk of fire caused by, for example, a short circuit.

To understand how dangerous cycles of temperature change are, it is enough to remember when light bulbs are most damaged. Well, bulbs most often get damaged when they are turned on, due to the fact that the filament of the bulb is subjected to incredible stress when its temperature changes in a fraction of a second from room value - to a value of several thousand degrees. Light bulbs that aren't turned off at all tend to last longer than those that are regularly turned on and off.

The component with the most common problems after turning on the power is the power supply. The current consumption in the first seconds after turning on the computer is much greater than the current consumption during normal operation. Since the power is supplied by the power supply, the computer must meet the high demand for electricity in the first few seconds of operation, especially when several disks are running simultaneously. Disk motors have a very high starting current. The level of this current often exceeds the capacity of some circuit or element of the power supply, causing it to burn. I saw a few power supplies that failed right after turning on the power. To keep your computer working as long as possible, you should keep the temperature of the semiconductor devices relatively constant and limit the number of power-ups. The only way I know is - keep the computer on.

Although, it sounds like I recommend leaving the computer turned on 24 hours a day. 7 days a week, it is not like that - I do not recommend it. There were a couple of reasons that changed my earlier stance urging me to leave everything always on. One reason is that a computer unattended poses a fire hazard. I have already seen monitors catching fire from an internal short circuit, and computers with fans seized up, causing the power supply to heat up. I no longer leave any computer turned on in the unguarded building. Another problem is the waste of electricity. Many companies have implemented strict savings programs by turning off lights and other unused appliances. The power consumption of modern computers and their accessories is not small. A running, unattended computer is also a greater threat to data security than a computer that is turned off and additionally shut down.

The realities - such as the danger of a fire from being caused by a computer left unattended at night and on weekends, data security issues, and excessive electricity consumption - make it impossible to leave your computer on all the time. So some compromise is needed. If the computer is to be turned off - only once a day. This good piece of advice is often ignored, especially when multiple people share the same computer. Each of them turns on the computer for their own needs, and after completing the task, turns it off. Systems used in this way pose more problems than others.

In buildings where heating is controlled by a thermostatic system, there is one more reason to worry about the condition of hard drives. Thermostats in some buildings are programmed to turn off heating at night and on weekends and turn them back on just before the working day begins. When the outside temperature drops to -30 ° C in winter (not counting the wind chill effect), the temperature in the house can drop below 10 ° C over the weekend. In monday morning. when everyone shows up at work, the building has been heated for at least an hour, but the platters of the hard drives just starting up may not yet be as high as 15C. During the first 20 minutes of drive operation, the disc temperature rapidly rises to 50 ° C or more. When the disk is equipped with an inexpensive stepper motor, and writing to it starts at low temperatures, the problems for this reason are solved.

If your computer is not left on all the time before you start writing to disks, let it warm up for at least 15 minutes after you turn it on. This practice is beneficial for your drives.

When the computer is to be turned on for an extended period of time, turn off the monitor or run a screen saver showing a randomly generated image. When the same image is displayed repeatedly on the screen, the phosphor of the picture tube may burn out. Monochrome monitors with high phosphor durability are more prone to this problem than color monitors with low phosphor durability. Most monitors used in modern PCs no longer show the phosphor burnout effect. Someone who has seen a monochrome monitor with a constantly displayed image of a program - even after it has been turned off - knows what I am talking about. Just look at the monitors showing flight information at the airport, usually you can see the effects of phosphor burnout.

Modern monitors have built-in energy saving functions and can enter a lower power consumption mode when instructed by the computer. If your monitor has power saving features, turn them on as they can help reduce costs and save your monitor.

Listen up. You want to use your computer all day, right? This is how most computers are used in services, companies, and at home. My computer also works about 10 hours a day and somehow I didn't notice anything wearing faster. For me, it is actually even worse, because the computer is turned off at least 3-4 times a day.

daavid117, maybe I have formulated wrongly whether the computer works 10h a day or 24h / 7 affects its faster consumption or it has a lifetime, e.g. 200,000 hours and this is how much it will work, regardless of whether it works 24/7 or e.g. 2 hours a day

As for the fans, the phenomenon of galling practically does not occur in a computer that works non-stop. I turned off the ones that I was taking care of once a year for cleaning. Surprisingly, the hard drives did not have any problems with non-stop operation, none of them fell. The ones that only had mini operating system floppy disks were more problematic. Every year, one and a half floppy disks had to be replaced.
The power supplies withstood a few of them, the AT capacitors did not swell, the boards also stuck, but it was old equipment built for years, not what it is today.

prosiaaczyna1234 wrote:

My main point is whether after a normal day of work on the pc I have to turn it off or healthier if it is turned on at night. My pc config is Intel Core 2 Duo e6750, Gigabyte EX38-DS4 2x2Gb Kingston 1066, 2x1Gb Kingston 800, Sapphire Radeon HD3850 512mb 256bit, Modecom Carbon 550wat, Samsung HD501lj 500gb

For continuous operation of such a set, it would be appropriate to replace this poor power supply, because the condensers will rain down much faster.

Generally, computers and all electronics can work 24/7. Routers work 24/7. So do televisions, so do monitors. (If someone thinks that when he turns it off, it goes to ST-BY, he is wrong. Now the main power supply is working all the time. Only the screen goes black). Nay! I saw the monitor, where the switch was all it did was turn off the backlight.

So, of course, there are devices that are better or worse suited to such work. Servers are designed for continuous operation, some even do not have switches. All eService & Networking hardware is designed for this. Of course, computers of the "Desktop" class can also work without being turned off. But if you don't take care of the good quality of their components, then there are problems with capacitors, overheating and others.

The article is as correct as possible, but I would also check the power consumption of your computer in idle mode, i.e. the box turned on, everything else turned off with switches and counted how much it costs you the whole day of work of the tinplate. Because it may turn out that it is cheaper to fix it from time to time than to pay for the electricity.

I have an example at home - because people watching TV left half a year ago, I turned off the receiver and DVD from the socket. Effect - PLN 220 overpayment in relation to the forecast on electricity bills for the last 3 months. It will be similar with the computer ...

I made a mistake with the power supply I have Modecom Carbon 620wat

It is still a poor modecom, for such a 400w fortron set that costs PLN 80, it is enough.

Considering my money, however, I would turn off my previous computer without doing anything (without the monitor), it would download 120-130W, it jumped up to 160-180W from time to time. Games are from 200W up (depending on what) on average 230W and temporarily it could be 280W. How did the CPU and GPU tweak it a little more? Recalculate the costs now, because I find it cheap to turn it off at night. I try to use a laptop to download files, which if it does nothing and has a blank screen, consumes 20-30W with the screen on, it can swallow 50-60W.