SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
There's no difference between keeping it on or off at all, it doesn't affect the life of the PC in any way.
PC build for photo/video editing (and a little gaming!)
- Thread starter Ascetic Focus
- Start date
Martinr36
MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Why turn it off, it doesn't take a lot of power, and the monitors go to sleep so that they don't get any image burn, the laptop gets turned off overnight
Ahh but it does. Believe it or not there is a lot of stress that goes into turning on a PC. Much like a light bulb, switching it off and on tends to be the jolt that breaks things. Obviously with better PSUs this is less of a consideration though. You will have heard of PSUs popping when being switched on, and breaking. You rarely hear of a PSU failing mid-operation.
Similarly, it's very rare that a light bulb will just stop working on it's own, it's almost always at the point of flicking the switch (due to the shock loading).
I remember being taught this in Physics (I think).
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
Yeah, but that's not an issue with the PC being switched on, that's a faulty PSU. So either way, it's just the trigger of the fault. The idea is not to have any faults in a healthy system.
Martinr36
MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
yeah i used to have to try to explain to one of the lecturers that i used to work with that turning off the workshop lights at lunch and turning them back on after lunch used more power than leaving them on (old fluorescent tubes)
For sure, I was more meaning wear and tear though. Switching on anything attributes wear to it. The amount of wear that something can sustain is related to its quality. Using it also attributes wear, as does maximising its output. Specifically regarding switching things on, they attribute far more wear than simply leaving them switched on does.
Using the lightbulb analogy, it doesn't pop because it's faulty. Merely because the bulb has sustained it's maximum number of shock loads. If you were to leave a lightbulb on continuously, it would last FAR longer than one switched on and off frequently. You can actually pop a bulb quite quickly by switching it on and off continuously. I think they only get a few 1000 hits before they go.
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
On an enterprise grade rack server where you have multiple PSU's for redundancy, they monitor any fluctuations of voltage outside of much stricter bands, anything outside of that at boot triggers a chassis alarm, and the PSU gets swapped out. Obviously those sensors and software cost money though, and it's not really feasible to include that in a mainstream build.
But on the higher end Seasonic Digital PSU's for enthusiast desktops / major overclocking, they do have all that built in. But my god are they expensive, but seriously cool!
Point is, 9 times out of 10, those warning are simply because the tolerances are so tight, and there's actually no issue with the PSU at all. But the point being, that any kind of failure is more costly than replacement of a possibly healthy part.
But it's important to include expected wear and tear for which a parts design accommodates it. Like RW cycles on an SSD or Mileage to an engine in a car, they're designed for a certain period / distance / RW operations etc.
Any Gold rated PSU that is working within designed parameters is fully expected to be fine with turning on and off.
Where the faults normally occur in the first place that lead to failure is unexpected shut downs and surges due to lightning strikes hitting the houses power lines and weakening a capacitor or other component in the PSU / motherboard etc etc.
The best advice is to always have a surge protector on the PC as an absolute minimum to protect against surges, but at the top end (obviously cost associated), include a UPS that will trigger a safe shutdown on the PC when the power goes out.
But all that aside, I'm also one of the ones who never turns off his PC, but that's mainly as it's a live server that's accessed 24/7. My laptop though, I turn off whenever I'm not using it.
But on the higher end Seasonic Digital PSU's for enthusiast desktops / major overclocking, they do have all that built in. But my god are they expensive, but seriously cool!
Point is, 9 times out of 10, those warning are simply because the tolerances are so tight, and there's actually no issue with the PSU at all. But the point being, that any kind of failure is more costly than replacement of a possibly healthy part.
Oh, yeah, absolutely, don't disagree at all with that. Sending any electrical surge (which is more prevalent with any kind of boot up) degrades any system really, often, not just electrical related, but heat, you're sending a huge heat increase to a component that's currently cold, as with an egg, this can lead to it literally popping if it's a capacitor or something like that as the air inside heats up to a point the case can't contain it. On non-analogue audio amplifiers as an example, the advice is never to turn them off.
But it's important to include expected wear and tear for which a parts design accommodates it. Like RW cycles on an SSD or Mileage to an engine in a car, they're designed for a certain period / distance / RW operations etc.
Any Gold rated PSU that is working within designed parameters is fully expected to be fine with turning on and off.
Where the faults normally occur in the first place that lead to failure is unexpected shut downs and surges due to lightning strikes hitting the houses power lines and weakening a capacitor or other component in the PSU / motherboard etc etc.
The best advice is to always have a surge protector on the PC as an absolute minimum to protect against surges, but at the top end (obviously cost associated), include a UPS that will trigger a safe shutdown on the PC when the power goes out.
But all that aside, I'm also one of the ones who never turns off his PC, but that's mainly as it's a live server that's accessed 24/7. My laptop though, I turn off whenever I'm not using it.
Server access here too. I couldn't afford a NAS drive that could transcode for Plex 
With my tablet I leave it on all the time, just allow it to go into normal sleep/standby patterns. Modern power management is much better than I recall with previous laptops, possibly a Windows 10 thing.
That being said, I think Laptops tend to have a softer boot spike due to being low power and battery driven, so there is a little less wear and tear thanks to the charging circuits...... but what also tends to fail on a Laptop (other than the battery) the charging circuit
With my tablet I leave it on all the time, just allow it to go into normal sleep/standby patterns. Modern power management is much better than I recall with previous laptops, possibly a Windows 10 thing.
That being said, I think Laptops tend to have a softer boot spike due to being low power and battery driven, so there is a little less wear and tear thanks to the charging circuits...... but what also tends to fail on a Laptop (other than the battery) the charging circuit
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
That's my ultimate goal, but my god are they expensive if you're factoring in an i7 or something equivalent! You really are looking at the same kind of costs as a dedicated server, but then these days that's exactly what NAS drives can be.Server access here too. I couldn't afford a NAS drive that could transcode for Plex
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
So I guess, I have to readdress my previous statement, rebooting a computer DOES inherently cause wear and tear which can be avoided by not doing so, BUT with the reservation that it's within expected parameters of the components design.
A good PC with decent components will be designed to withstand the on off cycles in a given lifetime.
The PSU is an often overlooked component that people think they can skrimp on, but it's one of the most important components that determines the overall quality and regulation of power to the whole system. Always overspec, leads to much longer lifetime and generally better stability of the system as a whole.
A good PC with decent components will be designed to withstand the on off cycles in a given lifetime.
The PSU is an often overlooked component that people think they can skrimp on, but it's one of the most important components that determines the overall quality and regulation of power to the whole system. Always overspec, leads to much longer lifetime and generally better stability of the system as a whole.
Ascetic Focus
Bronze Level Poster
Firstly, thank you for your replies with my question on whether it's best to keep a PC in a constant running state or not - was interesting reading your replies as there are two sides to the coin so it seems.
Second, my build has the Corsair 4000X case (2 x 120mm/140mm fan support on roof) and I have inside of it, the CORSAIR iCUE H100i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU cooler (two 120mm fans) - from your experiences, would there be enough space to install the cooler/radiator on the roof - the motherboard is ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING - I know the cooler fans and radiator come in at around 50mm height
I'm asking because, although I know PCS sometimes place the radiator/fans for the cooler on the front rack, I'd much prefer it if they went on the roof!
Second, my build has the Corsair 4000X case (2 x 120mm/140mm fan support on roof) and I have inside of it, the CORSAIR iCUE H100i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU cooler (two 120mm fans) - from your experiences, would there be enough space to install the cooler/radiator on the roof - the motherboard is ASUS® STRIX B550-F GAMING - I know the cooler fans and radiator come in at around 50mm height
I'm asking because, although I know PCS sometimes place the radiator/fans for the cooler on the front rack, I'd much prefer it if they went on the roof!
Ascetic Focus
Bronze Level Poster
So my order should be arriving some time this week and I have a very important question with regards to initial set-up and was hoping if the volunteers on here could help answer it @SpyderTracks @Martinr36 and others
I know PCS install an OS onto the system to test the hardware, however, I didn't order an OS with my system as I already have an OS on the current PC I use and simply wish to install the SSD into my new rig. I know the new rig will come with a 'test OS' on the M.2 SSD (which is the only SSD I have on the new rig) so is it a simple matter of plugging in my current SSD and booting from that and then formatting the M.2 SSD or is a clean install a better route? If the latter, then how do I go about setting that up? I have access to the product key but I believe this is now linked to my Microsoft account which allows a user more flexibility than what was the case in the past.
A few things to bear in mind - my current OS is running on a PC which is 10 years old. The architecture is ancient. It's an Intel i7 2600k QC CPU and Mobo is an ASUS P8Z68-V - will this give rise to issues with regard to drivers and updates etc.?
Also, upon installation of the OS (whether I clean install or simply 'plug & play') - I would think I have to install new drivers for the new hardware in order to customize it and have it up to date, right? Does this mean I have to dive into the hard drive management program to delete old drivers? (hence the [better] idea to clean install)
I hope I made sense and any help would be MUCH appreciated!
Thank you
I know PCS install an OS onto the system to test the hardware, however, I didn't order an OS with my system as I already have an OS on the current PC I use and simply wish to install the SSD into my new rig. I know the new rig will come with a 'test OS' on the M.2 SSD (which is the only SSD I have on the new rig) so is it a simple matter of plugging in my current SSD and booting from that and then formatting the M.2 SSD or is a clean install a better route? If the latter, then how do I go about setting that up? I have access to the product key but I believe this is now linked to my Microsoft account which allows a user more flexibility than what was the case in the past.
A few things to bear in mind - my current OS is running on a PC which is 10 years old. The architecture is ancient. It's an Intel i7 2600k QC CPU and Mobo is an ASUS P8Z68-V - will this give rise to issues with regard to drivers and updates etc.?
Also, upon installation of the OS (whether I clean install or simply 'plug & play') - I would think I have to install new drivers for the new hardware in order to customize it and have it up to date, right? Does this mean I have to dive into the hard drive management program to delete old drivers? (hence the [better] idea to clean install)
I hope I made sense and any help would be MUCH appreciated!
Thank you
Martinr36
MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
So guessing you aren't going to be using the old pc any longer, and you have access to that license on your microsoft account, then do the following:
Boot that USB and choose a Custom Install.
Delete all UEFI partitions on the system drive (EFI System, Recovery, MSR Reserved, Primary).
Select the unallocated space that results and click the Next button. The installer will create the correct partitions and install Windows.
Run Windows Update repeatedly, even across reboots, until no more updates are found.
You may need/want to download and install the latest graphics driver from the Nvidia/AMD website (they change so regularly the latest version isn't always in the Windows libraries).
This is also worth a watch
- Make sure you know the name of the old PC on your microsoft account (Just in case you have more than one device on the account)
- Carry out a clean a clean install of W10 following the instructions below
- once windows is installed go to the activation trouble shooter, once the trouble shooter has completed at the next prompt, select I recently changed hardware on this device link, find your old PC in the subsequent list, select it and click activate, and that's it
Boot that USB and choose a Custom Install.
Delete all UEFI partitions on the system drive (EFI System, Recovery, MSR Reserved, Primary).
Select the unallocated space that results and click the Next button. The installer will create the correct partitions and install Windows.
Run Windows Update repeatedly, even across reboots, until no more updates are found.
You may need/want to download and install the latest graphics driver from the Nvidia/AMD website (they change so regularly the latest version isn't always in the Windows libraries).
This is also worth a watch
Ascetic Focus
Bronze Level Poster
Hey, thanks for getting back so quickly
I actually wish to sell my old PC but after installing the OS onto my new rig, do I need to 'de-activate' the license on the old machine or can I sell it with the Windows installed on the HDD so it's ready to go?
So everything you've said makes sense and seems really straightforward. I download and run the new OS from a USB and when it comes to installing it - I select the M.2 drive on my new rig, this is when the installer creates the partitions and installs Windows, right? However, I'm also looking to put my current SSD into my new PC (this also contains all my files - pictures, documents, apps etc.) - I know the PC needs to boot from the new M.2 (via BIOS) but once plugged in, will I still be able to view the files on my current SSD or will some form of formatting (and resultant back-up beforehand) be required?
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Martinr36
MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
once you've installed the license to your new machine it will no longer be active on the old machine, which if you are selling i would recommend that you run the media creation tool on that, just to delete all partitions, then that makes sure none of your data is left anywhere on there, then it will be up to the new owner to sort an OS.
Re the SSD that you intend to move over, what I'd do with that assuming it's got your existing OS on is leave it out till you've got everything sorted on the new machine, then post back here and we'll sort out installing it for you
Re the SSD that you intend to move over, what I'd do with that assuming it's got your existing OS on is leave it out till you've got everything sorted on the new machine, then post back here and we'll sort out installing it for you
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
There's a thread here on how to transfer a license
www.pcspecialist.co.uk
Transferring digital windows 10 license to new machine
Hi all Quite a few people already have a windows 10 License which they want to transfer over to the new PC. Windows 10 now makes this easy, even if you have an OEM license, you can legitimately turn it into a "digital license" by tying it to your microsoft account, and then transfer it legally...
Ascetic Focus
Bronze Level Poster
Good evening and seasons greetings!
The PC arrived, I ran a clean install of Windows from a USB, managed to transfer the license and ran all the updates/drivers - so far so good. However, Windows is still running (as an 'activated' version on my old PC (via an SSD) - which I'm actually typing this message from!)
That SSD also still has the old OS on it - I've transferred all the main files to a portable HDD and I'm now tempted to pop the SSD into the new PC, fully format it and then re-transfer the files back onto it from the portable HDD