To Leave On or Not to Leave On - That is the Question

[RadCaz]

I was told once that my computer uses more energy to turn off and on than to just keep it on all the time.

What say you? Can I just leave it running for a long time or will this damage my pc? What are the risks, if any?

 

[ussnorway]

the main risk of leaving a pc turned on is Microsoft trying to upgrade it with their lastest untest junk

the point of turning systems off and on is they do their cleaning at that time and of course the default assumes a company with 1000's of systems sitting there all night while the user goes home to bed

 

[Hermitkrab]

I would never leave any of my digital equipment in an "on" state constantly. Shutting the device off and on again wouldn't make much difference in your electric bill, since the amperage usage is quite low.
Besides, I just feel better not having any electrical equipment running constantly, especially if I'm not home. I don't see how it could benefit the computer, either. If your concerned about not receiving updates, just set the computer to notify you that an update is ready.

Besides, it makes sense; that leaving any device on constantly will consume more electricity, however minimal that is. JMHO