PCIe cards in "permanently on" computer

[soundman007]

Does having your computer (Mac Pro 2010) permanently on, possibly be harmful for PCIe cards inside?

[PAK]

Not really. In theory leaving it on will put additional “wear” on components, though much of that is from heat. So, as long as the inside of the machine is kept cool, well made components (with no mechanical moving parts) should be capable of lasting 10+ years (often much longer). Of course, “should” and “will” being different things.

There’s an argument to be made that, if you turn something on and off a lot, it can put more stress / wear on something too. Though obviously considerations, like energy use, can also come into things when leaving something on for longer.

[soundman007]

Thanks a lot for your quick reply. The cards (digidesign) go back as far as the computer, so about 15 years. They always worked well, and still do so. But lately the startup of the computer has been somewhat problematic at times. Suddenly it began starting up slowly with a thick progress bar. Hence I thought of leaving it on permanently.

[jdnz]

Thanks a lot for your quick reply. The cards (digidesign) go back as far as the computer, so about 15 years. They always worked well, and still do so. But lately the startup of the computer has been somewhat problematic at times. Suddenly it began starting up slowly with a thick progress bar. Hence I thought of leaving it on permanently.

we've still got a couple of 2010 'cheesegrater' pros in use - in my experience a sudden slow down of boot is most likely a warning of impending hdd failure - so I'd look at cloning your drives onto new hdds ( or even better sata ssds )

at least you get some warning on the hdds - we also had a 2013 'trashcan' where the ( proprietary ) nvme suddenly failed

[lfm]

I had an XP computer for 18 years and had similar delays that the hdd needed many turns before file allocations sectors were read correctly without crc errors.

I used a partition tool to move file allocation enough cylinders into disk so not so worn. File allocation sectors are read much more often than other parts of disk. On windows now I think there are tools in OS to do such things. Shrink and expand partitions and such.

If there is such a tool for Mac, try it. Might be there in OS, not sure.

[planetearth]

Thanks a lot for your quick reply. The cards (digidesign) go back as far as the computer, so about 15 years. They always worked well, and still do so. But lately the startup of the computer has been somewhat problematic at times. Suddenly it began starting up slowly with a thick progress bar. Hence I thought of leaving it on permanently.

This sounds like your hard drive is failing. You might want to consider cloning it before it fails completely. Honestly, right now, I'd worry more about that than leaving a PCIe card on for another 15 years. (And for what it's worth, you can periodically check the electrolytic capacitors on the PCIe card. Any that look like they're beginning to bulge or are showing scorch marks at the top should be replaced ASAP. Replace them with new capacitors (less than $1 each) and you should be good for another 15 years. )

Steve

[planetearth]

Duplicate post.

Steve

[BBFG#]

Perhaps your drive is too full.
I've had similar problems and cleaning off old files and unused applications specifically to get more clear space always corrected it.
Plus one on getting a larger drive and cloning the old drive first. Worst case scenario is you have a new larger drive to transfer to another system if necessary.

[zerocrossing]

Not really. In theory leaving it on will put additional “wear” on components, though much of that is from heat. So, as long as the inside of the machine is kept cool, well made components (with no mechanical moving parts) should be capable of lasting 10+ years (often much longer). Of course, “should” and “will” being different things.

There’s an argument to be made that, if you turn something on and off a lot, it can put more stress / wear on something too. Though obviously considerations, like energy use, can also come into things when leaving something on for longer.

Excessive heat isn't a good thing, but if you really want to put wear and tear on electronic parts, heat them and cool them a lot. It's really the expansion and contraction that kills stuff.