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Do you shut your PC down at night? Staff split over power, wear and dust

PC Gamer ran a poll about whether people turn their PCs off at night and challenged the myth that powering a PC off and on uses more electricity than leaving it on. Modern PCs boot so quickly that startup time is negligible, but both frequent power cycles and long continuous uptime cause wear — and leaving a PC on increases power use and dust buildup. Staff take differing approaches: one turns machines off to limit dust, another leaves his on out of long-standing habit, and a third turned off a desktop because RGB lights were too bright while keeping a laptop running.

• The claim that turning a PC off and on uses more electricity than leaving it on is an oversimplification; startup causes some wear, but so does extended runtime.
• Modern PCs boot in seconds, making startup time effectively negligible for most users.
• Leaving a PC powered on increases electricity consumption and leads to more dust accumulation inside the system.
• PC Gamer staff are divided: Evan Lahti powers down to reduce dust, Andy Chalk leaves his PC on from a BBS-era habit, and Jarred Walton turned off a desktop for bright RGB while keeping a laptop running.