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leaving powerstrip on all the time, is it safe?

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so as recently we got new internet and router is not upstairs in my room anymore, i can turn off power strip if i want to but it's not convincing and slight of a bummer to turn in on everytime i wake up from sleep and turn on my pc. I don't like putting my pc to sleep much, it doesn't feel right to me for some reasons. I am wondering if i leaving a cheap power strip on all the time can affect it's lifespan or something, although it's a decent quality one and has served me well for last 4 years, as it's a slight annoyance to go through couple of steps to turn on your pc i don't want to bother with it but i am worried if leaving it on 24/7 can affect anything, i know it uses next to no power with that little power LED but i am more concerned about it's longevity and lifespan in these circumstances.
 
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Should last indefinitely unless it is a surge protector, although well built surge protectors like the TrippLite isobar seem to live a long time.

Turning it on and off is more likely to wear out the switch itself; leaving it on may wear out any neon light, although it will work fine even if the neon light is flickering.

I'd not worry about it.
 
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Turning it on and off is more likely to wear out the switch itself.
yeah, back in the day i used to do that alot and it made it slightly loose
 
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If you have bad electricity I'd invest in a good surge protector and leave it plugged in and on.
 
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Think of the power strip as an extended connection from your breaker. You don't turn off you're breaker when you don't use the connection. (atleast for me) Safety really depends upon the materials though.
 
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If you have bad electricity I'd invest in a good surge protector and leave it plugged in and on.
well, we do seem to have bad power issue with this older house but we shifted here 3 years ago and there's hasn't been any major failure of anything although sometimes stuff gets shorted like my left ceiling fan and a cheap local branded psu fuse was blown and both times mcb got triggered. Phones always sometimes get slightly warm while charging and i have lag on facebook and reddit while scrolling which i think is due to bad power.
 

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Should last indefinitely unless it is a surge protector, although well built surge protectors like the TrippLite isobar seem to live a long time.

Turning it on and off is more likely to wear out the switch itself; leaving it on may wear out any neon light, although it will work fine even if the neon light is flickering.

I'd not worry about it.
This ^^

Better to ask, like you have, and ensure that you're safe, rather than not be sure and take a risk. :)

Also, you can leave your PC on 24/7 if you want. It will use more electricity obviously and some parts possibly wear out more quickly, but that's dependent on a lot of factors. In short, use it as you wish.
 
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If you have bad electricity, invest in a good UPS with AVR (automatic voltage regulation). In fact, I say all computers should be on a good UPS. Remember, surge and spike protectors are little more than fancy and expensive extension cords as they do absolutely nothing for low voltage events like dips (opposite of spikes), sags (opposite of surges) or brownouts (long duration sags). And for excessive surges and spikes, they simply shut off power (IF working properly), crashing your computer - never good. If the surge and spike protector is worn out (it is recommended they be replaced every 2 years) or damaged, they typically provide little to no protection at all. :(

Note I mentioned nothing about total power outages. The backup power function of a good UPS with AVR is just a minor extra bonus feature. It is the AVR that really matters.

As far as your original question about leaving a power strip turned on, assuming (1) it is just a power strip (and not a surge and spike protector, (2) it is properly rated for the expected load, (3) it is of good quality and not damaged in any way, I see no difference between leaving it on all the time and leaving the computer plugged into a wall outlet all the time. It should be noted in much of the world, including all of the US, wall outlets are not switched.
 
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I thought that this was about the good old display tweaking software.. :laugh:

Personally I leave all the strips on just like I would leave a device connected straight to the wall outlet socket.
 

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I have 3 which have been on for the past 4 years, never turned it off.
 
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If you have bad electricity, invest in a good UPS with AVR (automatic voltage regulation). In fact, I say all computers should be on a good UPS. Remember, surge and spike protectors are little more than fancy and expensive extension cords as they do absolutely nothing for low voltage events like dips (opposite of spikes), sags (opposite of surges) or brownouts (long duration sags). And for excessive surges and spikes, they simply shut off power (IF working properly), crashing your computer - never good. If the surge and spike protector is worn out (it is recommended they be replaced every 2 years) or damaged, they typically provide little to no protection at all. :(

Note I mentioned nothing about total power outages. The backup power function of a good UPS with AVR is just a minor extra bonus feature. It is the AVR that really matters.

As far as your original question about leaving a power strip turned on, assuming (1) it is just a power strip (and not a surge and spike protector, (2) it is properly rated for the expected load, (3) it is of good quality and not damaged in any way, I see no difference between leaving it on all the time and leaving the computer plugged into a wall outlet all the time. It should be noted in much of the world, including all of the US, wall outlets are not switched.
I found running a UPS rather expensive with the need to replace batteries, so I converted one to run on a bank of supercapacitors

Replacing a UPS Battery With Super-Capacitors : 5 Steps - Instructables

after having tried to find a way to make the lead acid batteries last longer

Desulfation in Lead-acid Batteries; a Novel (resistive) Approach : 3 Steps - Instructables

Now I'm tempted to run an old UPS on lithium batteries.
well, i don't like UPS. They are a waste of money, if you have decent psu i don't really think we need it. My brother had reboot issue when power used to go out but after he got a good psu the problem went away so he sold his UPS to uncle as he didn't really need it anymore, same was the case with me when i was running orange label vs450 which gave me random reboot issue in just under 4 months of use. We have inverter for power backup and they are decent ones, i think quality PSUs have enough switch time charge to prevent power loss when inverter relays from mains to battery backup.
 
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well, i don't like UPS. They are a waste of money, if you have decent psu i don't really think we need it.
My brother had reboot issue when power used to go out but after he got a good psu the problem went away
Huh? All that proved was the first PSU was faulty or a piece of junk.

i think quality PSUs have enough switch time charge to prevent power loss
Sadly, that is not true. The ATX Form Factor standard only requires ATX PSUs to "hold up" power for a mere 17ms when the mains input drops below 90VAC (or 180VAC for 230VAC mains). 17ms is much faster than humans can detects (in the flicker of lights, for example). And if you look at PSU reviews, many of the top quality PSUs don't even meet that requirement. :(

So while you are right, a quality PSU will (or should) "hold up" power during extremely short dips in voltages, those are only a small portion of the power anomalies typical supplies encounter.

But you missed or ignored the point - even though you quoted me! The point for having a good UPS with AVR is NOT about power loss, but about regulating the voltage to include suppressing surges and spikes (high-voltage anomalies), and compensating for dips, sags, and brownouts (low-voltage anomalies).

Also, when selecting an UPS, it should be sized to support not just the computer's PSU, but your monitor and all your network gear too.

I found running a UPS rather expensive with the need to replace batteries

The need to replace UPS batteries is certainly a downside. But so is the cost of replacing a computer. And I note for many, it is the data that is the most valuable, and perhaps the downtime too - especially if they have to replace the computer.

That said, never buy replacement batteries from the UPS maker unless you want to pay full retail over-priced prices. Always shop around and you can easily fine deep discounts on Amazon or at one of many on-line battery sites for the exact same cells.

As for your super-capacitors - well, a typical UPS of decent capacity uses two 7Ah 12V cells. Many use 4 cells, some use 9Ah cells. I don't see how your 1Ah 12V capacitor array is going to be a suitable substitute to provide enough capacity under load. It might provide few scant minutes of run time, depending on the load but that is only useful if the user is sitting at the computer at the moment the power goes out so he or she can finish typing their sentence, save their document, close their open programs, "gracefully" shutdown Windows and properly power off the computer before the capacitor array runs out of charge. This is easily accomplished with batteries which can typically provide at least 20 minutes of runtime.

I personally don't see how spending $30 every 3 - 5 years on a pair of 12 7AH SLA cells is going to break the bank. Considering that capacitor array still requires the user purchase a UPS for that capacitor array to go in. The new UPS will already come with batteries, and your very low capacity array costs $70. I don't see how that is saving money. You could buy two new set of batteries for that $70 - another 6 - 10 years on top of the original 3 - 5 years with the OEM batts.

A fun project, yes. But worth it? Ummm, no.

But all this is off topic. This thread is about leaving power strips on full time. And yes, that is fine.
 
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You are right, a few minutes at max; and yes, it was just a fun project.

A power strip is just wires and wires can (and are) left powered for years without degradation.
 
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Huh? All that proved was the first PSU was faulty or a piece of junk.
he didn't have a ups before
Sadly, that is not true. The ATX Form Factor standard only requires ATX PSUs to "hold up" power for a mere 17ms when the mains input drops below 90VAC (or 180VAC for 230VAC mains). 17ms is much faster than humans can detects (in the flicker of lights, for example). And if you look at PSU reviews, many of the top quality PSUs don't even meet that requirement. :(

So while you are right, a quality PSU will (or should) "hold up" power during extremely short dips in voltages, those are only a small portion of the power anomalies typical supplies encounter.

But you missed or ignored the point - even though you quoted me! The point for having a good UPS with AVR is NOT about power loss, but about regulating the voltage to include suppressing surges and spikes (high-voltage anomalies), and compensating for dips, sags, and brownouts (low-voltage anomalies).

Also, when selecting an UPS, it should be sized to support not just the computer's PSU, but your monitor and all your network gear too.
well, i googled about main power to battery backup relay time and it's around 10-20ms so it's pretty much falls around 17ms you mentioned. I don't really have much knowledge in this area but i don't think it's we need to bother if everything is working as expected. Modern PSUs have OVP, UVP, OCP etc. which pretty cover all the major protection against power related issues. So i consider UPS to a waste of money and despite living for more than 3 years here, we didn't have any major electronic failure in this house yet so i don't think i need to worry much about that and i think UPS with AVR are a bit expensive as well.
 
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well, i googled about main power to battery backup relay time and it's around 10-20ms so it's pretty much falls around 17ms you mentioned.
Pretty much but not really.

"IF" it cuts over in 10ms, then fine. But "IF" it takes longer than 17ms, the computer is likely to crash and that can result in a corrupt boot drive, potential loss of data, and a computer that fails to boot. And I'm assuming the PSU is meeting the ATX Form Factor standard requirements. Sadly, many don't. :(

I don't really have much knowledge in this area

Modern PSUs have OVP, UVP, OCP etc. which pretty cover all the major protection against power related issues.
Sorry, but that second line confirms the first. That is NOT a criticism - just an observation.

None of those features have anything to do with the AC voltage being supplied to the PSU. Those features are there to protect the motherboard and other connected devices on the PSU's DC output side - there to prevent damage to the computer should there be a fault with the supply.

If your logic held true, you would not even need any surge and spike protection either.

And again, you seem focused on just the PSU and power outages. A decent UPS will protect your computer, monitors and network gear too and during much more than simple drops in power.

Yes, they are expensive. You can buy cheap ones, but I don't recommend them any more than I would recommend a cheap PSU. A good UPS with AVR is like having good insurance. Its expensive. You hope you never need it but if you do, you are glad to have it.

Also, not all destructive power anomalies come off the "grid". Any major appliance inside your home can produce destructive anomalies to include refrigerators, water coolers, microwave ovens, toasters and more. And any electronic device in your home can too - if faulty. Especially if a cheap, poorly designed device. A$15, 1500W hair dryer made in some obscure factory in the backwoods of China, using parts from a similar factory upriver, comes to mind.

So just because one lives in a region with a modern, stable power-grid infrastructure, they should not assume they are immune from destructive power anomalies.

we didn't have any major electronic failure in this house yet
Its funny how a little 3-letter word makes all the difference.
 
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What? No. Why would it be?

If your car runs perfectly for 3 years, does that suggest it will never break down after that? What about your refrigerator? If you don't have severe weather in area for 3 years, does that mean you never will?

If it was that simple to predict when bad things might happen, life would be so much easier.

The fact of the matter is, as your power grid ages, the chances problems will occur increase.
 
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"IF" it cuts over in 10ms, then fine. But "IF" it takes longer than 17ms, the computer is likely to crash and that can result in a corrupt boot drive, potential loss of data, and a computer that fails to boot. And I'm assuming the PSU is meeting the ATX Form Factor standard requirements. Sadly, many don't. :(
i think you're complicating things, i never had anything like that. I mean few weeks back my pc did turn off due to power outage 3 times, first when inverter wasn't charging and battery ran out of backup then few days after that my left fan shorted, both of which triggered MCB once more when i tried to turn on that fan and it lead to same thing even after first event i ran error checking on all my 4 drives but all 4 were fine so i didn't bother next 2 times with it and i have no issue maybe because i wasn't doing a file transfer and several months ago when i was moving games from a drive to another power was gone for too long and inverter gave up, i was hoping it doesn't happen soon or it finishes quicker but either of those didn't happen still i had no errors on those drives. i think SSDs help in such situations but mainly for themselves.
If your logic held true, you would not even need any surge and spike protection either.

And again, you seem focused on just the PSU and power outages. A decent UPS will protect your computer, monitors and network gear too and during much more than simple drops in power.
whatever the case might be, i have never seen or heard people living in much older places facing such issues. As long as i can remember even when we had B&W TV in childhood. I don't remember anything like that happening and causing a device failure. Though that house was build in 1994 but i don't even remember anyone in my family telling me such stories of anything failing like that and it was like 30-40 years old before it was rebuilt.
 
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I've had both power strips & surge protector strips plugged in & switched on for many many years with multiple systems in my house, neveranottaproblemo :)

But we have reasonably stable & good quality power, so YMMV....
 
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i think you're complicating things, i never had anything like that.
LOL

That's great. I hope you never do. But do not assume because you never experienced anything like that, that no one else has, or that you never will. It simply wrong for you to assume that.

I've never seen a volcano erupt. Does that mean they don't? Fact is, there are over 3 dozens eruptions going on this very minute!

I live in Tornado Alley. Severe weather is not uncommon. I have seen many power outages in new neighborhoods as well as old.

But as I keep saying, it is not about power outages that make a good UPS so valuable.

So no. I am not overcomplicating things. It is you who are over-simplifying things. :(

If you don't want to use a UPS, that's fine. Its your hardware and your data. But it is wrong of you to suggest others don't need one just because you feel you don't.

I hope you have a current backup.
 
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I hope you have a current backup.
yeah i do have a backup of my media data and steam libray on ext hdd.
it came in handy when i got ransomware last year.
 
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Hope the ext hdd is not plugged in all the time...
Only plug it when you are perfoming a backup.

Otherwise a lightning strike or an infection can take your backup along with your main machine.
 
Joined
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Hope the ext hdd is not plugged in all the time...
Only plug it when you are perfoming a backup.

Otherwise a lightning strike or an infection can take your backup along with your main machine.
well, have it plugged in all time since many months now, though haven't updated my media backup on it for few weeks as there are not many major changes. The way my PC is setup rn after shitfting to this new desk it would be annoying to replug it on the back panel port att for only syncing backup, my front usb 3 port has disconnect issue.
 
Joined
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Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
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Mouse Logitech M190
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Software W10 Pro 64-bit
Otherwise a lightning strike or an infection can take your backup along with your main machine.
Just another reason why a proper backup plan involves multiple backups with at least one copying being off-site. The off-site copy is necessary not just for lightning or malware, but flood, fire, hurricane/tornado too. And I know of at least two cases personally where a bad guy broke into the home and stole the computer and the external backup drive too. One kept a copy at a trusted friend's house. The other didn't. Guess which person was relieved they went through that hassle?
 
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