How long is it safe to leave your PC on for?

No more than 24 hours? Days? Weeks?

The reason I ask is that I am doing some big downloads and even with ADSL it takes ages, so I tend to leave the PC on overnight and when I go to work so it can chug away with the downloads.

Is there is risk of malfunction / fire / component failure? I am using standard components such as HDD, CPU etc They are not specialist "server" type equipment designed to work 24/7. Case temps are a steady 25c and CPU is 49c.

I'm probably more concerned about the PC catching fire and burning the house down when I'm not there to look after it.

I think most people have some worries about the PC catching fire, but I have some confidence in even the dodgiest of computer equipment in my room.

I've just got my hands on a MSI motherboard which has swelled capacitors and that has been running flawlessly for about 3 days. When I finally get round to put it in its case it will be my server and I don't plan on turning it off unless I really have too.

My main machine, and every machine I have had since my 486 has been left on permanently. The only times I turn it my PC off is if I'm stayin at my dads over the weekend and it won't be used, or if I'm messing about inside it ( :rolleyes: obviously, lol)

I've never had a PC catch fire, but I know people who have, and it is quite scary.

I say, as long as your PC has decent parts then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. If you are worried about a fire starting, then perhaps fit a smoke alarm next to the PC. Then at least you would get woken up if anything did happen.

Yeah i gotta agree, i've left computers on for weeks at a time and not had the comp die. The only prob i find is that it slowly gets slower lol. Never had or seen a comp set on fire from being left on lol, damn that must be hot!

i never shut my desktop off. it only reboots when a security patch or new software is installed. its been on a month straight since the last time i had to do either. ive had up to 4 desktops at a time running for several months uninterrupted. i had a greater fire risk from leaving the stove on or from people lighting scented candles

I keep my webserver running 24/7 for about the past 6 months, probably only reboot it like 3 times in that time, and it sits right on a carpet floor. I also keep this computer running pretty much 24/7 except for when I need to reboot it for smoething.

Uptime on the file server at work is 697 days
Uptime for both the DB servers is 267 days.
Only reason they were down is we lost a drive in the array. The UPS was faulty, and the generator didn't kick on. Maintenance forgot to make sure the gas was kept cycled.

Left my HTPC on for about 9 months last year.

MuFu.

I rarely turn my PC off. It's probably only turned off for no more than a couple of hours a month. As long as it's not in an incredibly dusty environment, there shouldn't be any problems. Just check that all fans are clean & spinning every so often.

The only reason I leave it on, is cos I use messenger during the day, and usually have something downloading at night. That and the fact that it's more hassle turning it off than leaving it on;)

oh, and we have a PC acting as our router for the network. I don't think it was turned off once last year, and it's only been turned off this year whilst we've been doing hardware upgrades.

Some of you guys talk in a foreign language.... :confused: :D

What on earth is a HTPC?

What is UPS? Expensive?

As for you guys using servers / pcs for routers etc, I'm assuming that these sort of machines aren't oc'd, have extra cooling (or good) cooling and specialised power supply units?

If I'm doing a nighttime download, I can always underclock / undervolt my PC to lower temps / stress etc

The thing that I'm more concerned about is if the PSU fails - would this automatically shut down the PC?

Quote:

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Originally posted by davidstone28
What on earth is a HTPC?

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Home Theater Computer. Used it for routing too, hence on 24/7/365.

http://muthafunker.homestead.com/fil...ard/htpc01.jpg

MuFu.

That's an interesting bit of kit - Coolermaster? Is it silent / quiet?

Yep, very quiet. Cel-t1.2@1.3Ghz w/low-profile 60mm fan (or fine, passive at 1.2GHz), PSU fan@7V, DVD-106s in silent mode, Seagate Barracuda ATA IV, no other fans. Controlled by an ATi Remote Wonder and occasionally in IR keyboard/mouse: http://muthafunker.homestead.com/fil...tpccontrol.jpg

Had to sell it this Summer to get some money for uni though. It was an unnecessary luxury!

MuFu.

Quote:

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Originally posted by davidstone28
As for you guys using servers / pcs for routers etc, I'm assuming that these sort of machines aren't oc'd, have extra cooling (or good) cooling and specialised power supply units?

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well, my server just uses the stock intel slot 1 heatsink for the 600eb, it runs very cool tho. I removed the stock hs/fan on the Radeon 32mb, and stuck a big heatsink on it so It can just be passively cooled. My intake is a 120mm fan, almost silent.

Quote:

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Originally posted by davidstone28
As for you guys using servers / pcs for routers etc, I'm assuming that these sort of machines aren't oc'd, have extra cooling (or good) cooling and specialised power supply units?

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3+ year old abit KT7 with a 1700+ @2ghz with a 26dB speeze cpu fan as only cooling source. 3 7200rpm maxtor hard drives. generic $20 250W power supply. no need to baby it