WEBVTT - Should you turn your computer off when it's not in use?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from house Stuff Works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart Happens. Hi Marshall Brain with today's question. Is

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<v Speaker 1>it better to turn your computer off when you're not

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<v Speaker 1>using it or to leave it on all the time.

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<v Speaker 1>This is one of those questions where there is no

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<v Speaker 1>single right answer. In other words, it depends on how

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<v Speaker 1>you use your computer. But there are at least three

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<v Speaker 1>situations that force you to leave your computer on twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four hours a day. First, if you have some kind

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<v Speaker 1>of backup solution that runs late at night, you'll need

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<v Speaker 1>to leave your machine on for the backup to occur. Second,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're using your machine is some sort of server,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll need to leave it on. For example, if your

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<v Speaker 1>machine acts as a file server, a print server, a

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<v Speaker 1>web server, or whatever on a land or on the Internet,

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<v Speaker 1>then you need to leave it on all the time. Third,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're running something like sitting at home and you

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<v Speaker 1>want to produce as many results sets as possible, you

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<v Speaker 1>need to leave your machine on all the time. If

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<v Speaker 1>you do not fall into any of those categories, then

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<v Speaker 1>you have a choice about whether or not to leave

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<v Speaker 1>your machine on. One reason you might want to turn

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<v Speaker 1>it off is economic. A typical desktop PC consumes something

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<v Speaker 1>like three hundred watts. Let's assume that you use your

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<v Speaker 1>PC for four hours every day, so the other twenty

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<v Speaker 1>hours it is on would be wasted energy. If electricity

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<v Speaker 1>costs ten cents per kilowatt hour in your area, then

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<v Speaker 1>that twenty hours represents sixty cents a day, and sixty

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<v Speaker 1>cents a day adds up to two d nineteen dollars

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<v Speaker 1>per year, which is a lot of money. It's possible

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<v Speaker 1>to use the energy saving features built into modern machines

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<v Speaker 1>and cut that figure in half. For example, you can

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<v Speaker 1>have the monitor and hard disk power down automatically when

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<v Speaker 1>not in use. You'll still be wasting a hundred dollars

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<v Speaker 1>per year. The argument for leaving your computer on all

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<v Speaker 1>the time is that turning it on and off some

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<v Speaker 1>how stresses the computer's components. For example, when the CPU

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<v Speaker 1>chip is running, you can get quite hot, and when

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<v Speaker 1>you turn the machine off, it cools back down. The

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<v Speaker 1>expansion and contraction from the heat probably has some effect

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<v Speaker 1>on the solder joints holding the chip in place and

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<v Speaker 1>on the microfining details on the chip itself. But here

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<v Speaker 1>are three ways to look at that. First, if it

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<v Speaker 1>were a significant problem, the machines would be failing all

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<v Speaker 1>the time. In fact, hardware is very reliable. Second, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know a single person who leaves the TV on

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<v Speaker 1>twenty four hours a day. TVs now contain many of

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<v Speaker 1>the same components that computers do. TVs certainly have no

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<v Speaker 1>problems being cycled on and off for years at a time. Third,

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<v Speaker 1>most vendors will sell you a three year full replacement

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<v Speaker 1>warranty for about a hundred and fifty dollars. If you're

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<v Speaker 1>worried about it. Spends some of the money you save

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<v Speaker 1>by turning off the machine and buy a service contract.

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<v Speaker 1>Over three years, you'll come out way ahead. Be sure

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