Comp Life and performance..

[Jim]

Ive heard mixed things about leaving your computer on and not really shutting it down especially if its a laptop... and i figured some of u guys would know whats best for a laptop or a PC to make sure you get the most life outta it and best performance  

[Particle]

Do you still plan on using your current computer in ten years?  No?  Leave it on.

[Jim]

probally not 10... but maybe half that i mean i keep it on maybe restart it 1-2times a week and shut it off when i go home from college

so i should shut it off everynight or what?

[Darwin]

I shut my computer off when Im away for several hours of sleeping, since theres nothing at night that really goes on that would need for me to run my computer 24/7.  Here are the factors to consider concerning this:
Fans
Hard disks
Power usage

The fans and hard disks contain motors that break down over time with use.  They will whine and moan as time goes on, which can be irritating, before going dead.  Hard drive whine, to me, is the most annoying sound that a computer can make, so I like to keep that from happening to my PC's for a long time by keeping it off when I'm not using it.

As for power usage, it just doesnt make sense to have an computer consuming hundreds of watts of power just sitting idle and doing nothing.  I turn the lights off when I leave my room, same as with my computer (if I'm away for awhile).

[Particle]

I shut my computer off when Im away for several hours of sleeping, since theres nothing at night that really goes on that would need for me to run my computer 24/7.  Here are the factors to consider concerning this:
Fans
Hard disks
Power usage

The fans and hard disks contain motors that break down over time with use.  They will whine and moan as time goes on, which can be irritating, before going dead.  Hard drive whine, to me, is the most annoying sound that a computer can make, so I like to keep that from happening to my PC's for a long time by keeping it off when I'm not using it.

As for power usage, it just doesnt make sense to have an computer consuming hundreds of watts of power just sitting idle and doing nothing.  I turn the lights off when I leave my room, same as with my computer (if I'm away for awhile).

That's odd.  I've got 13 hard drives--many of them 4-5 years old.  My computer isn't shut down unless there's no power, it's being moved, or it is under repair (aka not much).  My hard drives don't whine and moan.  They look fine, run fine, and sound fine.

[Dirk]

Unless you've got a nice collection of malware going on your computer, your hard drives aren't going to be doing that much work. Even using your box as a webserver or constantly p2p sharing doesn't put enough strain on your average bear drive to make it keel over early.

If your laptop runs hot, then it's probably not the best idea in the world to leave it cooking overnight. Especially the cheaper brand ones have a track record of being horrible with their internal airflow, though that's not usually an issue with IBMs, Dells, and to a lesser extent Toshibas, gateways, and the other brands I'm forgetting. Anything using the latest generation of mobile-centric designed systems (centrino for Intel chips, I'm sure AMD has an equivalent too) isn't something you need to worry about.

If you've got a cheapo, keep it off to prolong its life to the 5 year + mark.  If you've got a warranty on it that is fairly long, like 3 or more years, then I wouldn't bother with any safeguards. If something's going to overheat, it will probably overheat within the warranty period and you can get new stuff for free.

[Jim]

ive got a inspiron 700m with a Centrino

[KoRo]

Dont forget to take into account that most mechanical/electrical objects require more energy to start up than to run. I dont know how it is with computers, so I can't say for sure.
Also, unless you have an LCD monitor, even doing something as simple and turning the monitor off when youre away could help your electricity bill a little bit. Also, take advantage of Sleep Mode, etc.

Im done here.

[Jim]

any programs or software u guys suggest and is objectdock a malarkeyty prog?

[Darwin]

I tried it, but its all real gimmicky to me.  Having an OSX bar is cool, for a little while.  I took it all down after a few days and went back to minimalistic windows.  Now I'm using gnome, and life is good.

[Lidge Farkley]

Do you want to pay out the ass for electricity?
No?
Turn it off.

[Jim]

Do you want to pay out the ass for electricity?
No?
Turn it off.

i live in a dorm  

[Darwin]

I live in a dorm as well, but I still consider energy consumption, even if I am not paying for it.  If I am away for an entire day, I actually unplug my power strips to my computer, since even having those plugged in pulls some electricity.

I'd like to ditch my CRT for an LCD, since it has lower energy consumption.  I am just wary of them, though, since I have yet to have a family member own one that had proper black-levels (ie, Doom III actually playable, even my roommates LCD that was shipped with his Alienware makes Doom III unplayable because it is so dark).  That said, if I do buy an LCD, it will be in a store, not online, so I can judge the levels for myself.

I'm also looking forward to using a core-duo or equivalent processor in my computer.  Just cant wait for GPU's to also begin cutting down on energy consumption (is that too lofty of a hope?).  At most, I want less than two low-speed fans inside my case for my next build for a low-noise system.  Perhaps a passively-cooled PSU, so long as I can find a way to keep it from heating up my components too much or at all.  I have heard of a few external power supplies.

[Jim]

Ive got an LCD screen... and when its plugged in its great... but once u unplug it and it stops charging... dark as night  

[Lidge Farkley]

LCD

Sir, make certain these things:
-very small dot-pitch (pixels closer together; better to aim in FPS)
-very high refresh rate (again, good for FPS playing.)
-good warranty/pixel return plan for bad pixels. (yes, very important)

Well.. goodluck!