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Should I leave my computer on or off?

#382 | 2:56 |

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Friday September 4, 2009

Should you turn you computer off at night?

Should you turn it off at all? This debate has raged on since the release of the personal computer in 1982. Does turning it off harm the parts?

Does leaving it on cost too much?

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Show Notes

- The

average computer costs

about 60 cents a day to run.

- With

power-saving modes

implemented it uses slightly less than half of that.

- The argument for leaving a computer on concerned the contraction and expansion of chips on the motherboard.

- It was felt that the chips heat, when turned off they cool, and that constantly going back and forth shortened the life of the computer.

- To date there has been no study to confirm this theory.

- Computer components, including CPUs, hard drive, and memory chips, have gotten increasingly better.

- Computers offer many power-saving options including hibernation.

- Computers are built to run 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

- The power needed to run 1 computer full-time for 1 year release about 1 ton of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

- In some cases a computer has to be on for: