Last updated: December 31, 2022
Nowadays, computers; whether laptops or desktop PCs are found in almost every home. They are valuable electronic investments that need to be taken care of, and life without them seems hard and complicated; either for students, employees, e-merchants, or for others.
However, keeping your computer in good condition is essential. Sometimes you don't even know you're not using it properly. In this sense, you may be one of the people who once started their PCs and never turned them off.
And do you know that only this can damage your PC ? There are so many people who leave their computers on for days leading them to face the several technical issues afterwards.
If you are one of these people, you better keep reading to know more about the five reasons why you should turn off your computer every night.
Why should I turn off my computer?
Before you start ...
Do you know what is the difference between the three options to turn off; shut down, sleep, and hibernate?
- Stop: This is the power off state that most of us use. It closes all open programs and shuts down the operating system. And when you want to use your PC again, you'll need to turn it on and go through the typical startup process which can take a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on your PC system.
- Put on stand by: this is the state that consumes some energy. It allows your PC to start up faster and start using it where you left off, without worrying about losing open documents, etc.
- Hibernate: this state uses less energy than the "sleep" mode. And when you restart your PC, you're back where you left off (but no faster than suspend mode.
Now let's look at five reasons why you should "shut down" your computer every night.
1. Longer life
Imagine not sleeping for weeks! What would happen to your brain and your body? Well, the same thing will happen with your computer. Never turning it off puts a lot of stress and strain on its components (RAM, Graphic card, processor, etc.) which can ultimately damage them.
Indeed, the computer battery life will be significantly reduced after almost 300 charge cycles. In addition, when a computer is turned on, it generates the heat, but when turned off, it does not drain battery, which may cause more or less delay in reaching this number of charge cycles.
If you use your computer every day and throughout the day, do it a favor and turn it off every night to extend its life a few months or maybe several years.
2. Improved Performance
If you are in the habit of leaving your computer on for days – or maybe weeks – you may already start to notice that its performance slows down and that programs take a long time to load before they open. , is not it ?
Never turning off your computer decreases its performance due to random programs that hog memory, as well as fragmented files that consume extra processing power.
Additionally, by regularly shutting down your computer, you will avoid problems caused by graphics card drivers, drivers, and the process that are left open, and you give your computer a chance to restart cleanly and without a long wait.
3. Energy saving
Leaving your computer on for days consumes a lot of energy.
Even if your CPU (central processing unit) and GPU (graphics processing unit) are not working, the computer still consumes a significant amount of power which will become noticeable after months.
From tonight, try toshut down your pc before going to sleep to avoid this high energy consumption.
4. Less damage
The energy created from the heat and the heat damages the computer.
When you turn on your computer shuts down, it will crash and damage itself.
And if you use a hard disk instead of an SSD, its mechanical components will gradually wear out, because the more it works, the more it wears out, while using SSD only will save you this problem.
5. Preserve the environment
Leaving your computer on 24/24 consumes more electricity, which is not good for the environment.
Shutting down your computer at the end of the day makes a difference. And in case that's not a solid argument for you, take that then.
A computer running continuously costs an average of 50 euros per year for each machine, and businesses will notice the increased costs associated with repairing and replacing IT equipment due to increased usage.
To close...
With the COVID-19 pandemic and its lockdowns, people are increasingly working from home, and some are leaving their machines running for days or weeks without restarting or shutting down.
And as IT specialists, we recommend our readers to start considering regularly tinting their PCs to maintain their budgets and secure their systems.