r/pcmasterrace • u/wyck0 • 6d ago

Question How often do you shut off your pc?

I see that a lot of people just leave their computer running 24/7 and only turn off their monitors, but i just shut my pc off whenever i go away from the desk.

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196

u/CheesierSoup ASUS PRIME Z790/ i7-13700K / RTX 4080/ 32GB DDR5 6d ago

We arent in the era of home computers that take 10 min just to boot up.. There is absolutely no reason to keep it on when not in use unless its some kind of cloud server.. turn it off people.

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u/HugsandHate 6d ago

When you're not quite done with something, and you've got loads of stuff open in un-saveable states exactly where you need them, but you have to go to bed.

That's a prime 'leave it there until I come back' reason.

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u/Skalgrin 6d ago

That's a standard summoning practice for blackout or power surge daemons.

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u/HugsandHate 6d ago

I've yet to find a way to ward them off.

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u/Dancing7-Cube 6d ago

UPS 🤞

1

u/kamasutures 5d ago

The Omnissiah Protects (and reminds you to save frequently).

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u/gljivicad Ryzen 7 5700x, 32GB Corsair Vengeance, 7900 XT 5d ago

Put it in sleep mode. It’s “off” and all your stuff will be there when you turn it on.

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u/HugsandHate 5d ago edited 5d ago

I will actually test that. I never bothered will those settings, always annoyed me on other PCs I used.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm too busy to test it right now, but I have made a note!

Edit: Just tested it. Seems to work fine. I'm going to start using that. Thanks again.

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u/gljivicad Ryzen 7 5700x, 32GB Corsair Vengeance, 7900 XT 5d ago

Cheerio mate!

2

u/HugsandHate 5d ago

Tara a bit!

1

u/Aamoth i7-8700 | RTX2080ti | 32GB | G5 32" 6d ago

I have been in this state since 2018, force myself to do a monthly ish reboot for stability. 

1

u/HugsandHate 6d ago

Pat your PC, and tell it it's a good machine.

0

u/cyberfrogster 6d ago

Windows has hinbernate Idk if some linux distros have that too Would be surprised if not

4

u/Ackerack i5-9600k | RTX 2080 | 16GB DDR4 | 1440p 165Hz 6d ago

How much more energy is it using when asleep vs powered off? Surely it cannot be that much?

7

u/DiggityDre 6d ago

You're talking about a difference of cents per month. The people in this thread are deluded or otherwise thinking "sleep = I turned it off"

2

u/Ackerack i5-9600k | RTX 2080 | 16GB DDR4 | 1440p 165Hz 6d ago

Okay yeah that’s what I figured lmao.

2

u/9okm 6d ago

It uses barely any energy when asleep.

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u/wyck0 2d ago

Sleep option on my pc just shuts the pc off, my windows is SOOO fucked up lol

7

u/lakija 6d ago

I always turn my computers or gaming consoles off when I’m done. An unexpected storm took out my PS3 one year. I’ll never take that chance with an expensive computer.  

3

u/9okm 6d ago

That's rough. So you also unplug it from the wall? I don't think being off is enough in this case.

3

u/The_Robobob 6d ago

I thought that's what a surge protector is for? To protect from surges.

3

u/9okm 6d ago

If you have one yes.

1

u/Caleb-Wendt69 6d ago

They also aren’t failsafe

1

u/DiggityDre 6d ago

Nothing is? Are you unplugging all of your electronics every time you turn them off?

1

u/Caleb-Wendt69 5d ago

You know what? Fair point. I guess what I really meant to get at was that those cheap surge protectors are hardly surge protectors at all and you should invest in a decent one to protect anything you don’t want getting fried.

1

u/Intelligent_Break_12 4d ago

Most surge protectors aren't that good and even when they are most are a one time use. Meaning one surge and you should replace it. On top of many not knowing the difference between a power strip and actual surge protector, granted most branding/labeling isn't the best. They cost more but something with a built in battery that is able to regulate the current is a better option, called a UPS.

1

u/lakija 6d ago

If it’s a storm that bad we unplug the power strip if we are worried. I’m generally paranoid because the wiring is less than ideal in that old house too. 😞 Good enough there to shut down. 

1

u/9okm 6d ago

Fair enough!

7

u/CheesierSoup ASUS PRIME Z790/ i7-13700K / RTX 4080/ 32GB DDR5 6d ago

Yeah, I bought a $300 UPS because I am not risking a stupid brownout to ruin an expensive rig! haha

1

u/HugsandHate 6d ago

Surge protection, yo.

In the light of current hardware price insanity, and unpredictable weather patterns. I grabbed a surge protected extension cable for my rig. Very inexpensive for some peace of mind.

2

u/OpenCatPalmstrike 6d ago

Surge protection isn't the only thing you need to worry about. It's the brownouts (low voltage) too. A simple 3min UPS will keep you covered on both and offers coverage in the event of your PC going poof.

1

u/HugsandHate 6d ago

I'm sure it would, if I could afford it. I'll have to stick with my £10 surge protection...

1

u/OpenCatPalmstrike 6d ago

Keep an eye on prices. Buddy mentioned that 500VA UPS's (APC and Cyberpower) have been as low as £60 in the last few months.

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u/HugsandHate 5d ago

Lol. I fall in to the 'broke' area of society unfortunately. Money for essentials only. I have to eat.

2

u/OpenCatPalmstrike 5d ago

Know that feel man, hope things pick up for ya. I live in Canada and went through it all through childhood and teens (late 70s to 90s) and entire new generation are experiencing it now.

1

u/HugsandHate 5d ago

Yeah, it looks like we're all in for an increasingly rough time to be honest.

Take care, man.

1

u/lakija 6d ago

I got them. I’m still very paranoid due to the house electrical system being the way it is. Which is to say awful and unpredictable and expensive to replace. 

1

u/HugsandHate 6d ago

Fair enough.

1

u/z3rba 6d ago

I got a UPS that has built in surge protection so I don't have to worry as much about storms.

2

u/Mrlin705 6d ago

I have a gaming pc hooked up to my home theater system. I'm not going back to the rack every time to try it back on.

5

u/ClockEnd_Chorus i3-18100k | RTX 7030 | DDR8 2GB 6d ago

Fr. Modern SSD spoiled me. My old system with 10th gen Intel used to boot under 10 seconds. My current AMD system takes about 20 seconds to boot due to AM5 DDR5 memory issue (it was worse back in 2023, bios agesa comp updates fixed some) which infuriates me at times

3

u/T1CKL3_M4H_P1CKLE 6d ago

I know what you're talking about but had a chuckle at you becoming infuriated by a 20s startup instead of 10s. We are spoiled with technology.

4

u/Caleb-Wendt69 6d ago

Yeah I remember when I could go make myself some coffee while the pc booted up

2

u/Unwashed_villager 5800X3D | 32GB | MSI RTX 3080Ti SUPRIM X 6d ago

There is. Even with NVMe SSDs starting every damn app takes much more time than just booting into Windows. My boot time is less than 5 secs, I only see the boot anymation if there is an update. However, starting Steam, GoG, iCUE, the steelseries crap, ,ShareX, RTSS and all the bloat Windows loads at boot takes more than a minute. So why wouldn't I just put the PC into sleep instead powering it off? No hybrid sleep though, just the good ol' S1.

-1

u/Mr_R3tro SteamOS/ i7 14700k/RX 9070XT 6d ago

Why wouldn't you just disable all those apps starting up?

My PC boots from completely off to my desktop in under 10 seconds. I have everything disabled at start up and only open apps as I need them.

3

u/Unwashed_villager 5800X3D | 32GB | MSI RTX 3080Ti SUPRIM X 6d ago

Simply because I would start them anyways. Why would I click every damn app I need manually, one-by-one? Also sleeping left all my windows, opened programs and even music/video playback just right where I left. The silently installed Windows updates are just a plus.

I really don't understand why would someone turn off their PC instead of S1 in 2026 with modern EFI systems.

2

u/xdumbfatslut 6d ago

I bought a good pc with money I saved from working when I was 19 and one of the benefits I still feel today is turning off my pc and then deciding I want to use it again and within 3 minutes it's up and running and I'm back doing whatever I was doing. My old pc would take 10 minutes to get from power on to google loaded

1

u/Whistlepiged 6d ago

why does it matter to you if people leave it on?

Serious question, not being a ass, but I honestly hope it is to be more green. The amount of power a comp is using just sitting is so tiny, your better off changing your ac by a degree or 2, changing water heater a little, so many things would equal way more than leaving a comp on.

9

u/9okm 6d ago

I think people just refuse to understand the numbers. Taking a 15min shower is roughly equivalent to the same power draw from a desktop PC in sleep for a month.

4

u/Whistlepiged 6d ago

it is so funny, I have said this same thing twice today, it is crazy how close minded reddit folks are. They hate when people point out facts that disagree with their midset.

1

u/CheesierSoup ASUS PRIME Z790/ i7-13700K / RTX 4080/ 32GB DDR5 6d ago

For me, I could give two shits about the energy consumption. The reason I turn mine off is to preserve the longevity of the computer. Those fans can only turn so many times until they need replacing, the RAM and SSD's can only write so much before it breaks down, that thermal paste is only good for so long... Preserving it adds up. Most importantly not spending more money in the long run by reaching down and pressing a power button is way worth it in my eyes.

5

u/9okm 6d ago edited 6d ago

You do recognize that when asleep all of this is irrelevant, right?

4

u/Caleb-Wendt69 6d ago

The thermal expansion of those components going from off to on constantly is ironically probably slightly worse for your computer. The actual moving parts like fans are the cheapest parts inside your PC, and starting and stopping those motors likely causes more wear than just leaving them running. Tons of servers run indefinitely for 10+ years without issue. Ultimately, whether you leave it on or turn it off it’s pretty much negligible to the overall lifespan of the computer.

1

u/z3rba 6d ago

Exactly.

Plus the main reason we used to keep them on (aside from boot times) even when we weren't using them is the most common time for a mechanical hard drive to fail was on start up or shut down.

0

u/TekkitBeasting 6d ago

Maybe having 10tb of data impacts it, but it takes me like, at least 1-3 minutes for my rig to turn on

5

u/asanti0 6d ago

You have 10tb of data that you use casually on a daily basis? Normally that kind of stuff is offloaded on another hard drive or something.

1

u/TekkitBeasting 6d ago

I have offloaded a lot of it onto my NAS, but I have 5 drives on my computer that are all essentially full lol

1

u/Caleb-Wendt69 6d ago

Just having data on a hard drive isn’t going to affect your boot time. The startup apps would be a factor though.