[hoss]

Is it better to turn your computer off or leave it on all the time? :-*

[kandree]

You don't leave your TV on 24/7. Same with your computer! Turn it off when not needed. Bye

[computerguy_86]

If you are running a screensaver on your computer you can leave it on all the time. The monitor can be ruined if you leave your computer running for an long extended period without a screensaver. I don't know the term for it but something gets burnt inside the monitor if the display is left on the same image if you will. The monitor needs a picture change every so often. Hence a "Screen Saver". For example, if you've every left your computer alone for a day, then walked in and turned off just the monitor, you might still see what you saw before you turned it off because what you saw might have been almost burnt onto the screen. If it's power issues you're concerned about, get a U.P.S. The choice is really yours. Para-phrasing what kandree said "if your not planning to use it for an extended period of time, shut it down." Don't go "on,off,on,off,on,off." It's bad for it and hard on the power supply. Like with almost everything ever made the more it's used, or left on, the faster it wears out.

[labman]

The computer by itself doesn't use that much electricity. I would leave it on unless you won't be using it for a day or 2. The one exception to that is in a lighting storm. Even with the best surge protector, it may be better to not only turn it off, but unplug it too. Even left on constantly, barring a lighting strike, your computer is likely to last until it is obsolete with no more than a cooling fan replacement.

Most of your software automatically turns off the monitor or at least puts it in a low power mode after a period of non use. If yours doesn't work that way, poke around your control panels and see if you can find a place to turn it on.

I now surf right through lighting storms. I have several surge protectors including one on my furnace. They would all work together to handle any surge. I have my computer, router, telephone adapter, and cable modem plugged into a UPS, plugged into the one surge protector. I think my computer is safe from a power line surge. I am a little concerned about the cable. It does have a lighting arrestor. A surge that passed it would have to go through the cable modem and router to get to me computer. The cable modem belongs to the cable company, and routers are not too expensive.

[cremedies]

Which was first... The chicken or the egg? It really doesn't make much difference which way you go on this one. Six on one hand, half a dozen on the other. It basically comes down to personal preference.