Task Manager Won't Launch.....

[phill]

From the hardware aspect of the argument, there is little to no difference between leaving a machine on for long periods of time and shutting down and starting up when the machine is not in use. Alot of people argue that starting up is hard on the system or an idle CPU is an unhappy CPU, but after extensive testing by different groups, it doesn't matter.

The software arguement, its a little more....well its a grey area. If you know what you are doing, you can target the problem areas and free up the resources causing the slow down without having to reboot. Same goes with many of the updates that come out, things can be done so you don't need to reboot. It is however, less work to reboot your machine then go out of your way to avoid reboots.

Then there is my arguement, its called money. It is cheaper, period, to shut down your machine when you don't need it. Yes, there is a range in how much you save, some will only save a little, others like me save alot...my machine is basically a server with a video card.

[Kitashi]

Heh, my computer's nowhere nearly as beasty as a server, but I never thought about the cost of running it. I'll have to check that out.

[prophetik music]

he's also referring to the eventual cost of replacing parts that wear out over time - particularly high-temperature components like the gfx card and chipsets on the motherboard.

[phill]

Generally speaking, failure rates on a machine that is on all the time and one that's rebooted on a regular basis aren't all that different and from what I've seen and read you won't be spending more money on hardware replacement in either case. You may see individual pieces of hardware fail sooner in either case (always on vs rebooted) but it is not going to be years apart.

If a piece of hardware fail long before its EOL, then it is likely caused by something other the average usage. Faulty manufacturing process, heavy constant usage (marathon rendering sessions on regular basis) that sort of thing. A computer that's on but idle isn't really being stressed so it really doesn't have that much effect.

As for the power consumption issue, there is a reason there is a push for companies to shut down idle computers. It will save the company millions of dollars each year, billions nation wide. Shutting down your home computer may only save few hundred bucks, but that is still money in your pocket.

[Mass]

Prophet: Yeap the SP# did it, I think....So far the symptoms are gone, and my PC is a bit faster though only a bit. Thanks for the help everyone.