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Overnight I run BOINC. So while it is using power, it is in theory doing good for the world 
Hogan
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I run F@H overnight on my two work machines. One is a quad-core Mac that gets some big WUs that are worth a lot of points. 
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Really, a major reason that I turn off my computer is the sound of all those fans.
I sometimes wish after thinking to multiple cores and more and more speed, Intel and AMD decide to consider the sound! These fans try me crazy! When I shut down my computer, late in the evening, I just feel the silence and wonder; will this sound cause any disease! I hope not.
// "Life is very short and is very fragile also." Yanni
while (I'm_alive)
{
cout<<"I love programming.";
}
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If your system makes so much noise, you should consider doing the following:
1) Get a bigger case. The closer the parts are in the case, the less likely that they'll be able to cool themselves sufficiently.
2) When you buy a case, make sure it's got at least TWO 120mm fan openings - one for intake, one for exhaust.
3) Get a more efficient CPU cooler. When you buy one, make sure it has (or allows) a 120mm fan. These coolers will be *huge*, but they'll be almost silent.
4) Get a Power supply that has a 120mm fan, and if possible, TWO fans.
5) Get a fan rheostat device. These mount in drive bays and allow you to control the speed (and therefore the noise) your fans make.
Why 120mm fans? Because they move more air at lower revolutions, thereby creating less noise. Also, buy QUALITY fans. Don't cheap out.
I have a 18-inch aluminum cube case with five high-quality 120mm case fans, a 120mm fan on the CPU cooler, and two power supplies that each have a 120mm fan, and you can barely hear my machine even when you're sitting right next to it. I use two fan rheostat devices (each device controls three fans) to control the speed of the case fans, and the case is so huge that even the four hard drives I have in it don't affect the heat level in the case. Right now, my inner case temperature is just 26.6 degrees C.
I also have a 8800GTX card and even when playing a 3D intensive game, you can't hear my system running.
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
-----
"...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001
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Very good information, got my 5.
Thank you John.
// "Life is very short and is very fragile also." Yanni
while (I'm_alive)
{
cout<<"I love programming.";
}
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote: 4) Get a Power supply that has a 120mm fan, and if possible, TWO fans.
Good PSUs have variable fan speed, depending on the system load. Also look for a PSU with a fan on the underside, rather than the back, they're generally much quieter.
John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote: 8800GTX card
After going to quiet PSU, my graphics card fan is now the loudest  . It's not a heavy duty card either. I'm hoping to get a high end AND quiet GPU (if there is such a thing).
"For fifty bucks I'd put my face in their soup and blow." - George Costanza CP article: SmartPager - a Flickr-style pager control with go-to-page popup layer.
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Now you must use proper syntax my friend...
Hamed Mosavi wrote: while (I'm_alive)
In VB
while (me.IsAlive)
or
while (me.Thread.IsAlive)
Anyways, I do agree with your comment here.
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I think that most of the "allways" answers land into the "most of the time" option ...
36. When you surround an army, leave an outlet free.
...
Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
SUN-TZU - Art of War
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Turning off your computer sounds like you are saving the environment but are you?
If your CPU or disk dies prematurely what resources are going to be consumed
to provide you another? What about your down time and loss of productivity?
What about the stress? If computer problems seem to plague you and not your
peers, how soon will your boss notice?
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I let them run and take care of maintenance tasks such as defrag, virus scans and updates. I do turn all monitors off.
DB_Cooper1950
Either enjoy life,
Or Hate Life,
Just quit
SITTING ON THE FENCE!
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db_cooper1950 wrote: I do turn all monitors off.
This itself saves a lot of resources. Wouldn't it?
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Monitors go to standby? That's almost the same as if they were shutdown.
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At work I shut off workstations nightly because we have incredibly unreliable power and only a couple of UPS units. The servers I leave running all the time, since they are well protected, and there's no real benefit to shutting them down. After all, we ARE the power company.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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I only turn off my PC when I am leaving me home for more than couple of days. I've read and heard from others that turning on and off a PC can actually shorten its lifespan. I have not done a test specifically but I've had two computers run for 8 years straight without any component failure. My parents, who turn on and off their computer multiple times a day have had to replace their computer 4 times in the same amount of time because of component failure. I've heard an analogy that turning on your computer is like pouring ice cold water onto a sleeper. It shocks it awake and if I am the sleeper it definitely takes away some of my living time.
Brett A. Whittington
Application Developer
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And, depending on who it was, it shortens their lifespan too...;P
Ninja (the Nerd)
Confused? You will be...
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Same here, always keep all my machines going 24/7/365, barring any power outages.
"Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon
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I've heard that too. I wonder if it's true.
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A long time ago, in a monopoly far, far away (AT&T Bell Labs), there was a statistical analysis done on terminal lifetime vs. being turned off overnight. Now this is 1980's terminals (not even monitors; these were ASCII terminals with the green or orange text characters) but they had many characteristics in common with today's PCs: power supplies, PC boards, etc.
The study showed that the cost of repeated repairs to these terminals greatly outweighed the cost of electricity to keep them running all the time. Again, prices are different almost 30 years later, but this is a hard data point.
It is generally regarded as risky to extend statistical results to causality, but the belief (based on what was in need of repair) was that the problem was thermal shock. It loosened wires, solder joints, and PCB traces. After hundreds of such shocks, it appears that components failed.
So, FWIW, thermal shock has been a measurable problem in the past on electronics.
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Thanks for giving some background info. So maybe replacement costs are no longer an issse. I will have to put into consideration.
Brett A. Whittington
Application Developer
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That's really, really interesting.
I've worked as a tech for something like 15 years, on and off, and I've experienced the sudden thermal death of equipment through nothing more than turning the thing off, working on it for a while, then trying to turn it on again. 'Oh dear, it seems to have turned its toes up'.
Customers howl, you scratch your head, then rip the thing apart and start hunting for crystalline solder joints or bulging capacitors. Without a microscope, or a full-on test rig, you're shall we say politely, screwed.
Interesting, I say again. What about accumulated static damage - any thoughts?
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BruceN wrote: What about accumulated static damage - any thoughts?
I've not heard about any studies concerning that. Seems like it would be much harder to correlate unless you were willing to deliberately subject equipment to ESD. Sounds expensive.
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I shut down my home computer, but I have a couple of small databases on my office system so I can't shut it down. Plus I can now remote into it from home.
On the other hand; I constructed an extension cord with a switch for ease of turning the monitors and speakers on and off.
Remember; many devices use power even when they are "off".
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My main reason is the energy saving and if you have any hesitation visit www.liveearth.org[^].
Secondly, I prefer shutting it down, when I start it on the next day it makes me feel that new fresh day is beginning with an empty desktop.(therefore no hibernation)
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Curious point...I always turn mine off and I don't mind waiting what, 2 minutes (max) for it to load?
Even if I did call it slow, and left the dual boot menu to run until it's default, it wouldn't take that long.
And if I leave it on, I can't sleep at night. The noise of the fan is ridiculous.
Ninja (the Nerd)
Confused? You will be...
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I keep my PC up all the time. Our company IT published a policy to power PC's down over night...unless it needs automatic maintenance or it needs to be backed up. We were never sure when we were suppose to keep it and not. It would be nice if they would let us know when these things are suppose to happen. So mine's up.
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