Do you think it's better to leave your computer on while you're not using it, or is it better to turn it off? There are reasons for each choice, as well as, of course, associated advantages and disadvantages.
Which one is better? Turn off the computer or leave it on? There are some really good reasons not to turn off your computer overnight. Not only because of faster startup in the morning, but also because of improving the functions of the system itself, explains Makeuseof.
It's more practical
The first and most important reason why you should leave your computer on overnight is practical. Instead of waiting for it to start, it's always ready to go. A typical system with an SSD usually takes about 30 seconds to boot. If you have many programs that start at startup, the startup time will increase. If you leave your computer on, you don't have to worry about it.
It takes a few seconds to wake the computer from sleep mode, but above all, all programs will remain active.
Continuous upgrades
Several computer functions are important for maintaining your computer and data. Almost all do their best work overnight. Things like installing operating system upgrades, backing up, scanning with an antivirus program, or sending large amounts of data are just some of them. If they are active overnight, they will not bother you if, for example, they "overload" your Internet connection.
Always accessible
If your computer is always on, it can run software that isn't available otherwise, including Remote Desktop. You will never have to struggle to find an important file you have on your computer. You just need to connect with your phone or tablet and you can already find what you need.
What if you want to turn off your computer? What are the advantages?
Each component has a limited shelf life
Hardware cannot work forever. The monitor illumination can last tens of thousands of hours, the laptop battery works for about 300 charge cycles, while the SSD part supports only 3,000 program deletion cycles. In reality, in most cases you'll upgrade your computer before the components stop working, but with the computer on, you reduce its life by a small percentage - the bigger problem is the heat generated when you use the computer.
Reduced energy consumption
It goes without saying that leaving devices on is a waste of electricity – but the question is, how much? The 13-inch MacBook Air 2018 consumes an average of 25 W while working, 8 W when idle, and 0.3 W when sleeping. Bottom line - there's a bigger difference between using a computer when it's on, when it's doing nothing, and when it's off. Turning off your monitor dramatically reduces power consumption, but it does create one small problem - if your computer is in sleep mode, you'll lose many good features like Remote Desktop.
If you really want to reduce your computer's power consumption to theoretical zero, you'll need to turn it off—although even computers that are turned off use some power.
Your computer is safer from voltage drops
A sudden change in mains voltage is usually caused by lightning strikes, and computers are sensitive enough that you need to protect them. The best move is to connect your computer to a surge protector.
Rebooting improves performance
It used to be that restarting the computer regularly was an integral part of the user experience, because otherwise the computer would simply stop at some point. Today, the situation is different because of modern operating systems that work better. If you choose to never turn off your computer, you won't notice much of a difference in performance. Rebooting is still the most effective way to deal with the large number of everyday errors you may encounter. Whether it's a "stubborn" application or a printer that doesn't want to print - restarting can always help.
It's quieter
Depending on where you keep your computer, turning it off may be more convenient as everything is much quieter. You can turn off notifications, but you'll still hear the fan and hard drive after a while. Laptops don't have this problem, but if you own a traditional desktop computer, turning it off is really a source of precious silence.
