.143 Beth©

Is the act of running a laptop 24/7 a bad idea?
I am more specifically speaking of running folding@home on my laptop day in and day out. Before I got this program, I used to keep my comp off all the time, but to be effective at folding@home, you need to run the program as much as possible.

I still run ad aware every other day, and defrag about once a week, but I am wondering if running my comp all the time can have negative effects, hardware or software related.

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SilverStealth89

wats folding@home?

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SilverStealth89

o and concerning running your laptop, dont do it if you laptop is high end, makes the lifetime much shorter for you comp

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SilverStealth89

nm i understand wat folding@home is, somehting with protien folding at Harvard i believe?

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perry

Running the processor at 100% 24/7 is going to generate a fair amount of heat. I'd at least look in to some sort of laptop cooler to set it on so the little fan in the laptop isn't constantly cycling.

Depending on the way the battery charges, you'll probably chew it up. If you mainly use it plugged in, then that's really no big deal.

.143 Beth©

Ok, I have a high-end laptop:
3.2 GHz p4-540
1 GB Corsair 3200 low latency ram
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700(AGP)
40 GB HD

folding@home uses a constant 50% cpu power.
MY fans are HUGE
The battery is charged until full, then it trickle charges it every 10 minutes for 30 seconds.
My comp doesn't get to hot when using folding@home, but when I play CSS it does. So, I don't think it is problem as far as extreme heat

So, the bottom line question is:
Will my laptop's lifespan be shorter if I run it all week long, and it stays off all weekend long?
If so, how much shorter, and what do yall think is the main source of the problem(heat, wear, etc.)?

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perry

Heat is the #1 enemy of computer components... there's really no moving parts except for the hard drive. If you're comfortable with the heat level, then you should be fine.

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.laptops?lnk=lr - I looked through there real quick, and it seems like most folks say it won't be a problem. Use the Search This Group box and put in "leave on all the time" (without the quotes) and you should get plenty of opinions.

Spyder

There are tons of opinions on both sides of the fence for leaving it on. The first is that electronics have a half-life in hours use (in the thousands, and tens of thousands of hours, usually) So, the more you leave it on, the more hours you rack up, you get the idea. You're not shortening it's lifespan so much as using it =P. The other side of hte fence is that the most damaging thing to most electronics is when you turn it on.The power tends to bounce/spike briefly before leveling off, and each spike slowly wears on electronics.
In general, Will you "shorten the life" of your laptop? Doubtful, as most people upgrade/replace laptops well before they start to crap out. Provided you're not over-stressing it heat wise, There shouldn't be an issue.

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=Sarc=

It's probably a good idea to get a laptop cooler for it if it's running folding@home 24/7. Also, if your laptop can run on AC power without the battery, take that battery out. It will be better for the battery's health.

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Just G

Whilst downloading questionable films last year, I ran my laptop for days on end with the battery in and it totally knackered it so that it doesnt hold a charge any more, so do as sarc said and remove the battery and run on the AC, the other thing that i did was put a small desktop fan next to the laptop so as to keep it as cool as poss

AzrealDarkmoon

Shouldn't hurt a thing, assuming that heat does not become a problem. I would set it just so it turns your screen off after so long.

My iBook is on 90% of the time, either in sleep when I sleep, next to me at work, or next to me on the couch at home, or even next to me while playing BF2.

Az

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Mateo

I leave all my compunters running 24/7, including a Compaq laptop. Go over to Staples and get a laptop cooler (a piece of plastic that gets your laptop off the table or desk and let's air circulate underneath-$20 or so), and forget about it.

leejo

I download questionable films 24/7 and so am in the same boat. Besides, who here wears out parts faster than games make them obsolete? I don't worry about making computers last. If it breaks, I explain to my wife how this justifies the new purchase I've been whining about anyway for 6 months.

Wyzcrak

How exactly does your computer breaking justify you purchasing the new Martha Stewart casualwear collection?

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.143 Beth©

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll get a laptop cooler, and see what happens from there.

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