When I was new to computers in the late 90's, one thing I had been told by several sources (school friends) was to address the question of "to shut down or leave on." The belief was that turning on a computer requires so much power, that you'd save more energy by leaving it on all night as opposed to powering off til the next day. It was a pretty popular theory, it seemed, so not knowing much about physics I believed it. While it's true that starting anything requires a bit more kWh than when said device is already running, someone decided to completely blow that thought out of proportion. I was forever left scarred by this idea, mainly because I had helped spread it to others after believing it myself. I am still recovering from the stigma, and am seeking professional help and attend weekly mental therapeutic sessions. Just thought I should let you know. So anyone else go through any outrageous myths as a PC noob?
Actually, you are half-right Rubius. There effectively is a trade-off between leaving it on and shutting it off, but it isn't a question of power. Electronic components come into two kinds : _Some really have a time limited life expectancy. _Others really do suffer when powering up occurs, hence there is a limited number of times they can endure it before failing. A computer being such an assembly of diverse electronic parts, it is really difficult to have an idea about which effect will be worse overall. That said, the power consumption of computers since the 90s (not to mention the 80s) has risen so much that the power consumption even at idle during a whole night has to be taken into consideration.
IMO it really depends on how you tune your system in the end - I could throw all the power saving options and let it roar at a beastly 100% when idle, or I tune it down so it only uses 5% of its power for lets say downloading. About the powering up and off, try comparing it to a car. You turn on the engine, you will use more fuel and stress certain components then you should leave it just idle. I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure how I can write this down in a proper way in english, but basically what I'm trying to say is, I agree with Saffaya but also keep in mind that technology is being refined to use more for less.
Rub, I was the same way, man. I agree with the car analogy, but I always just throw my computer on stand-by when I leave (not sure if that's worse, now that I think about it), because when I go to work I'm gone for 10-11 hours so leaving it on with my fans blasting isn't very good for my power bill. Normally I leave it up if I know I'm going to be back on it within a decent amount of time. Personally preference I'd say, do what makes you feel better heh. But - with that being said - its also good to be intelligently informed on such matters.
Yeah, I was aware of your point, but I didn't mention it because it doesn't give the myth any credibility, since the myth addresses power consumption only, not the preservation of your devices.
I leave it on simply because i want instant gratification. Cant be bothered to wait for it to start each day.
My pc noob moment was upgrading everything in my pc to easily x5 performance........except the cooling system. Melty melty.
i consider it to be similar to other devices. for instance, my lawn mower goes through 1 minute of idle fuel during start up, so if it's going to be sitting there longer, its better to turn it off from only a fuel concern. but what if the engine needs to warm up more or the oil usage from startup is worth 20 minutes at idle? its all a balance in the end.
Biggest myth is virus protection and how the most popular virus protection software companies are a bunch of scammers and I'd put my hard earned money on the fact they create a lot of the viruses out there so that people will continue to buy their terrible products. There's so many free programs out there that do all that is needed to keep your computer safe. SO yeah, having to pay for virus protection softwares to keep your computer safe is a big myth.
myth: netbooks are born when the motherboard gets together with the fatherboard... then they grow up into "laptops" and repeat
Can I get your money ? 'Do not attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence' All they have to do is make a shoddy product and market it well. No need to create virus themselves. A whole underground community is there for that.
It's true, you don't need to run AV software to not get viruses - I did that for years. The only reason I don't now is ... well, on one machine, company security requirements, and the other, so win7 doesn't nag me about it. I still use a free one (Avast) because I don't think it's worth paying for. I can't think of any particularly popular myths I've heard of lately, although there is plenty outdated information on how to improve performance out there.
u can turn off the win7 anti-virus nag btw =P I don't use anti virus actually. haven't for some two three years now and I don't have any virus (that I know of) and I have checked before, and only thing that pops up are cookies -when I have had anti-virus-. just stay away from warez and p0rn and you're good =P BTW is there any solid research on the whole leaving it on versus turning off a comp? I'm very curious now!
yeah, i would direct that toward registry tweak software on TV these days. all they advertise is things that freeware can do. maybe they do it better? i doubt it though.
Gief me puterz nowzz!!! <3 I seriously leave mine on all the time just cause i fall asleep with my headset on talking on skype. If you guys hear cute snoring in vent it's just me lol XD
All I know is I've had more virus issues when I've had the pay for Virus programs on my comp apposed to no virus protection. I know the conspiracy theory sounds silly, but, I wouldn't be surprised to find out the guys like Norton and McAfee haven't created virus's to keep their products moving along. I mean, how can you know they're not part of the underground community? They are the only ones that benefit from virus's that just mess up your computer and do nothing else.
That particular kind of virus is a minority. Most are designed to benefit their creators in a direct way such as turning your PC into a part of DDoS attack, logging your code numbers and pass, scanning your cookies/history for such, infecting more computers from your friendlist, etc ...
Leaving your computer on does NOT save power. 1. Leave your computer on, for a month. Then look at your electric bill. 2. Turn your computer off when you're not using it, everyday for a month. Then look at your electric bill. I did this in october (left it running all the time), then november, turned it off every single time I was going to be gone, or sleep, for more than 1 hour. Kwh usage went down by 380Kwh. Saved me 45 dollars on my Energy bill. And no, you dont need anti virus programs to not get viruses. Just don't use Internet Explorer. (puts on flame resistant suit)
exactly... and they are sneaky and hard to know when you have them once they get on your system. I can tell you that needing AV of some type is not a myth... I work for an ISP and so many people have viruses and don't even know it... I can see the traffic from the viruses though so I know they are out there I am not going to say go buy it an AV program though, that is a myth, and in fact some of the paid for stuff is total crap... I used to love norton AV, but now think it's crap... along with it's security tools kit... I have always hated mcafee but the fact of the matter is you can get free AV software... AVG for example... or you can do free online scans now and then to make sure you haven't been infected. The thing is that no matter how careful you are, unless your not connected to the internet, you chance getting a virus or worm... you can get them through MSN, through word docs, through MP3 files, through movies, through software, through websites etc etc etc... there are worms that don't even need you to do anything, they scan your PC for exploits in the OS for example, and when they find one, they jump on without you being the wiser... Yes using firefox is better then using IE as it doesn't have some of the same holes IE has... but if you run windows, your at risk. All it takes it one mistake clicked link, or a intended click onto an exploited website, or being late on a security update, or someone else using your PC. Some of these are sneaky enough you will never notice but if you have AV software running, a lot of times it will warn you if not block it 100%... If you run a Mac or Linux, the chances of a virus or worm are much lower as most are designed to hit windows systems, but with linux you have to watch for other issues like getting your box rooted which is an entire new can of worms. edit - needing to pay for AV software is a myth needing AV software is not. I tend to run AVG (free version) and spybot for basic protection, and then common sense for the rest.