Two Schools of Thought

There has always been two ways of thinking when it comes to turning your PC off or leaving it on to run all the time (just rebooting once in awhile). The idea was that it did not hurt your PC to leave it on all the time other than extra electric bill. Some believed that it was cheaper to purchase a power supply than a hard drive. Hard drive used to costs about one dollar per mb. That is no longer the case. Back in the 1980's a 200mb hard drive would have cost around $200. Today, you can purchase a 160gb hard drive for about $80. They are getting larger and larger capacities and cost less and less. The idea that leaving your machine on caused less wear and tear on the heads of your hard drive. Each time you start your PC the hard drive armature will access the heads. Hard drives are manufactured a lot better than they were years ago so this belief has changed some.

I leave mine on most of the time only rebooting on occasion. If you want to turn yours off or leave it on is just a matter of preference. It is just a question that still gets asked a lot about what is better for your PC.

The power supply still is cheaper than the hard drive and you can purchase a 400W power supply for under $50 with some vendors. Its okay to up your wattage on your power supply if your old one wears out however for older PC's anything past a 400W would be over kill.

During a storm I would turn off my PC though and unplug it from the wall also disconnect it from the internet. Lightning can damage it even when its not turned on so keep that in mind. If you go on vacation turn it off as well no use giving your power company extra cash when your not there.

I hope this info was helpful. Until tomorrow have a nice day.

Tim