[G4] Re: G4 Digest, Vol 26, Issue 3

[Dave March]

--- Brett George <brettgeorge at comcast.net> wrote:

> Encapsulated smoke?! What the? I've never heard that
> one before. Could 
> you please explain?


He's pulling your leg!  ;-)

In the case of politicians, however, it's quite true
-- if you let the hot-air out of them, they can no
longer function!


>I leave my system on 24/7 and
> have done so for years 
> without any problems. (knock on wood!)
>  From my research, that is the best way to go for
> some users. I'm on my 
> computer every day and at all hours so it works for
> me.
> The only time I shut down is for upgrades,
> maintenance or if I'm going 
> to be away for more than 12 hours.
> 
> I used to shut down every day and THAT cost me a
> monitor! Yes, it was 
> proven by the Mac techs that frequent on/off helped
> with the early 
> demise of it. Weird huh? I'd never heard of that one
> either!
> 
> brett (always learning something new!)
> 


In professional applications, many electronic devices
are deliberately kept powered up at all times, most
especially if they operate at high temperatures.  The
theory is that components break down faster if they
are forced to cycle between high and low thermal
states.  I learned that early in my audiophile
hobbying -- a transistor (for example) is happier and
lives longer if it is kept at full operating
temperature at all times.  It doesn't need to sleep.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of all
components.  Electrolytic capacitors, in particular,
WILL degrade faster if kept hot all the time.  Cooling
fans would be another exception, as they simply wear
out with use.

So, while the "leave it on" theory is gold for some
applications, it is hardly universal.

-DKM


> 
> Richard M. Kriss wrote:
> > On 10/9/06 1:23 PM,
> "g4-request at listserver.themacintoshguy.com"
> > <g4-request at listserver.themacintoshguy.com> wrote:
> >
> >   
> >> He keeps his Mac on all the time, and when he
> came home last night it
> >> had a black screen with 'CPU failure' in white,
> at the top of his screen. When
> >>     
> >
> > Sorry to hear about any Mac going down.  For the
> life of me I do not
> > understand why some people leave computers running
> 24/7.  They all contain
> > encapsulated smoke and leaving them on increases
> the probably of releasing
> > the smoke.



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